


Making up for Lost Time

by Felinafullstop



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: F/M, missing child case
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-10-14 19:00:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20605727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felinafullstop/pseuds/Felinafullstop
Summary: Alec and Ellie are starting a new case, a Missing persons case, and Alec is having trouble staying focused. It's hard when your mind is screaming and your daughter is plotting. (it's a sort of SLOW burn, but will pick up as chapters progress)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “Things are never lost to you; you are lost to them. If ever in need of a Thing that has lost you, simply stop hiding from it.”  
― Shannon Hale, A Wonderlandiful World

  
Alec raises a brow as the small steaming cup is set before him, "What's this now?" He looks up at his partner, Ellie Miller, confused. She's never made him tea, not once, not ever in the last three years, until now. "Tea?" He still can't wrap his mind around what is going on. She must want something, perhaps a raise or a day off. 

"Tea with milk, and not that stewed stuff you keep doing in the Microwave." Ellie Miller smiles at him and sits down on the small sofa with her tea, stack of files in hand. "You'll drink it if you know what's good for you."

  
"Is that how you talk to wee-" It takes him a moment to remember, he should know this after so many years. "Fred, is it?" He scowls but looks in the cup, but he cannot let this go, "There's nothing wrong with the tea I make, Miller. Nothing at all," Alec closes a folder and setting it aside. He gathers up the tea and takes a sip as he pulls out another folder. He does find his voice again; it's soft and kind, probably because it is better than the tea he makes. "But thank you anyway for bringing it." The thanks, a complete and utter afterthought, he regrets saying it instantly. She's going to point out that he never thanks her, he's sure of it.

  
The criticism doesn't come, and that's a balm. "You're welcome," Ellie smiles and holds out a folder for him to take. "So what do we know so far?" She asks, sitting primly on the couch, waiting for his response.

  
This case is a missing person's case, a missing child case. "We know," Alec grabs a new folder and pulls it forward opening it. "That Thomas Kaine was at the school in the early mornings Tuesday, we know the teacher did a headcount in his homeroom class."

  
"We know he was at his first and second classes." Ellie said, "He took a pop quiz in the second-hour class and turned it in."

  
"Right." Alec set his tea down. "Then he goes missing, doesn't show up for the third period, doesn't show up for anything else after that for the rest of the day." He looks up. "The boy was not considered missing when the parents called in on Tuesday night."

  
"It hadn't been twenty-four hours yet, sir."

  
Alec nods. "but by this morning, Thursday morning, he's considered missing." He looks at the clock, noon.

  
"Announcements went out on Social Media and to the news agencies with the boy's description and a picture." Ellie says, "The alerts are going out, but we're already getting false positive calls."

  
"You'll always get those when you put out a photo," Alec says, matter-of-factly. "Lots of kiddos tend to look the same." He sounds rough even to himself as he reaches up under his glasses rubbing at his tired eyes.

  
"We've been checking homeless shelters, cemeteries, and parks with our patrol officers." Ellie continues, "Trying to find any information on him we can, anything at all, but we're coming up empty."

  
Alec nods in agreement as she continues, "We checked the CCTVs on the roads around the school, but not all of them have it, what we have scoured through those that do, but they don't seem to show him. He could be in a car." They didn't like that idea, during the time of his absence no cars had traveled the road except the postman. "So he left by another road, or he left on foot. There's the possibility he left in a car at the end of the day without being seen." Alec sighs, putting his elbow on the table to rub his temple with his fingers, his insomnia wreaked havoc on him last night. "But it would keep his direction pretty southward." He pulls a small map of the school, and it's surrounding grounds. "The CCTVs for these three roads have a bit of overlap, and we would have seen him if he went this way on foot." He's circling the areas with a red pen.

  
Ellie leans up off the couch and nods "Suppose so," She shakes her head "I mean why would he just vanish like this?"

  
"That is why we investigate Miller." She gives him a disapproving look. He didn't mean to chastise her, but she's looking at him like he has done just that. "Who spoke to the parents?" he softens his tone.

  
"I did; it was his mother and step-father," Ellie smiled. "They seem like nice folk, just worried is all." She shakes her head, "Mother's on-site, downstairs, won't leave."

  
Hardy nods, "That's a typical response from a mother." He looks up, "Fathers tend to go out on the search."

  
"Should we be concerned?" 

"No, anyone searching is a help." He motions, "And if it keeps him out of our offices screaming like a mad man." 

Ellie purses her lips, and he looks away, he has to. "I just can't believe this." 

He's got to get her back on topic, "Background checks on the parents?" Alec pulls another folder down of maps of the school. 

"Mother's completely clean, not even a parking ticket. Father's got a drunk and disorderly charge from Uni that looks to be unrelated." Ellie says. 

Alec smirked, "We've all had a bar fight or two." he understood the notion of a right row.

"When? You won't even step foot inside the pub." She smiles at him, but they go back to the files. "Thomas is not driving yet, doesn't own a car."

"What's his age? Fifteen ya said?"

"In four days, he will be fifteen." Ellie looked at the file in her hand and set it aside. "Has C.S. been dispatched to search for evidence at the school yet?"

"No, but I already put in a request, we need to make that happen as soon as possible, check his locker, the school is the last place the boy had been, should have been the first place we looked." 

"He was not considered missing until this morning," Ellie says as if that should satisfy, it doesn't. "It was half-past eight in the bloody morning."

He stands up, buttons his jacket, and flips the folder on his desk closed. "Feeling like a field trip, Miller?" 

She shakes her head at him, "Oh joy, I'll pack a sack lunch." She says deadpan. He adjusts his tie. 

"That's the spirit," He grabs his wallet, and his cell phone before making a bee-line for the door. "MILLER LETS GO!" He calls back to her with a grin on his face; he thinks she's probably spilled tea everywhere. 

"I'M COMING!" She barks back at him.

* * *

The school is full of children in the halls, screaming and moving in a flood through the halls. "Hey, DAD!" Daisy is rushing past to her next class. They brush hands briefly, but Daisy's caught in the undertow of moving feet.

  
"Hey, Darlin-" He doesn't get it all out before she's too far down the hall and in a room with her fellow students. Just as the school's halls had been chaos, they immediately go clear.

  
"I hated high school," Ellie remarks beside him. "I very much hated High school." She is nodding sagely remembering something he thinks.

  
"Oh, Miller, same," He sighs, remembering himself memories better left buried, "Where is Thomas Kaine's locker located?" He turns to the Principal of the school.

  
The Principal gives him a post-it note. "Locker four twelve, just up that hall, I've written the combination down for you." He says timidly. "Do you know anything yet?"

  
"We don't know any new information," Alec nods at the man holding up the post-it. "Thank you."

  
Ellie looks around the halls as they walk away from the Principal. "Something on your mind, Miller?"

  
"Looks so different," She says, "Well, more different than I remember." She admits.

  
He wonders if there's an old yearbook around with an embarrassing old photo of Ellie that he should find. "That's probably a good thing?" Alec pulls latex gloves out of his pocket and pulls them on one at a time before unlocking the lock. "Got your evidence bags?"

  
"Always." She watches beside him as he opens the door up. There's nothing spectacular inside. There is, however, a picture of a group of kids, Daisy and Tom are both in the film club. It shows the group holding movie posters for Shakespeare remakes. Alec pulls it off its tape and hands it to Ellie to put in a bag. "Gonna question the kids he knew."

  
"Even ours?" She smiles at the photo and drops it in a bag.

  
He hates having to say this. Ellie already knows this, "Even ours." He sighs, "I'll talk to Tom; you can talk to Daze. Bring them in on Friday afternoon." He reaches in, pulling out notebooks, and papers. "Let's go through all these journals; make sure we don't miss something." He nods, "Daze likes to doodle in the edges of her notebook; maybe he does the same. Might be something there, maybe not, it's worth the look."

  
"Alright." Ellie takes the stack of books in hand and puts them each in their bag, sealing them closed. A uniformed officer arrives with a box to place the evidence bags inside. Ellie starts taping them shut and marking them with a pen before setting each in the box in turn.

  
He frowns reaching onto each shelf, pulling out items, one of them is a pair of headphones, a small candy bar (half-eaten), and a small swiss army knife. "Knife at school," Alec remarks. "Just a knife? Was he trying to protect himself? Or did he want to harm someone else?" All of these are valid questions.

  
"Could get suspended for just having something like that at school," Ellie takes it in her gloved hand and slides it into a bag.

  
"Let us worry about finding him first," Alec pulls out a small spiral notebook and opens it, a photo falls out of Thomas standing with a teacher holding a blue ribbon next to a crude diorama. "Science fair?"

  
"Was two weeks ago," Ellie says, "Want to question the instructor?"

  
"Yes, I do." Alec stood, pulling off his gloves. "Get all that sorted out." He says, "Prints and any information we can use." He sighs and looks around. "Let's get the instructors to the station after school, all of them that had Thomas in classes, can we get search dogs for the grounds?"

  
"Maybe in a few days, we don't have k9 units here."

  
"See if you can get a rush on that, we need to see if we can track him from the school. Before any rain washes away what we're after."

  
The Principal stood a ways off, watching them with interest. "Did the boy have a gym locker?"

  
The Principal looks down and then nods. "I'll take you to the gym." He informed.

  
"Gonna clean that one out Miller," Alec responds. "Take this on back, get that K9 working, get the instructors rounded up for questioning after school, and see if we can get something rolling, we're losing time."

  
"You got it, sir." She stands to lift the box and walking away. He watches her go and smirks a moment.

  
"Detective Hardy? Are you listening, sir?" He snaps back to reality and nods at the principal who is speaking to him.

  
"Sorry, what were you saying now?"

  
"I'll take you to the Gym." The man says kindly. "When you're ready."

* * *

  
"It's frustrating," Ellie remarks as she picks at her pasta.

  
"Cases like this usually are Miller," Alec says quietly. They sit in a booth at a new Italian place that's opened. It's casual and inexpensive, and it seems to be to both their likings. "Fred, okay?" He does not want to discuss the case here.

  
Ellie looks down at her lap, the little boy asleep. "Passed out cold." She runs a hand over his hair. "Good for him, the rest." He's got his head on her thigh and clutches a small black puppy plush to his chest. A threadbare blanket covered in spaceships is resting over him.

  
"Didn't eat much." Alec remarks before taking a bite of his Alfredo.

  
"Doesn't usually no, kids are like that though, and he'll eat it for breakfast or something later when he's hungry. My kids graze like little cattle." She smiles at him. "Daisy wasn't like that?"

  
"No," He shakes his head "That little girl could eat everything and not gain a kilo."

  
Ellie smiles. "Takes after you then?"

  
Alec is chewing, his answer delayed, but he points a fork in her direction. "You watch it, Miller," He says after swallowing, but there's no heat in the threat.

  
"Watch what exactly?" She asks as innocently as ever.

  
Alec turns back to his food and doesn't answer, but he does grin, and she nods. "That's what I thought," Ellie murmurs and smiles at the waiter who brings them more to drink. "Thank you." She says to the server.

  
"I will have a car pick up Tom and Daze from school tomorrow and bring them to the station; we'll start with them," Alec says softly before taking a drink of his water. "I have sent requests to the school for the other six children in the photo, and all the instructors that have Thomas in class."

  
Ellie nods, "Alright," Fred turns over, and she watches him until he settles down.

  
"Not sure what we can get but we'll see." Alec sighs deeply.

  
"You're worried."

  
"Ah, Miller, I'm always worried." He nods. "Especially in cases like this where we've already lost time due to having to wait 48 hours just for him to be considered missing, that makes it VERY hard on us."

  
The server appears, "Your ticket." she sets it down, smiles at the sleeping boy in the booth and takes Ellie's empty plate. "Want me to box the little one's food up?"

  
"Please?" Ellie smiles at her.

  
Alec scoops it up the ticket as the server walks away. "Gonna put it on the expense." He says, "We're on duty, anyhow."

  
"You can't pay for that on an expense like that, you knob. I ordered for Fred too. You wrote the rules, no expenses for witnesses, victims, or family." She shakes her head, "And you are on duty because you refuse to be OFF duty." She's not wrong; she is off duty, he isn't.

  
Alec considers it and stands out of the booth taking out his wallet at the counter and paying himself before she can protest.

  
When he returns, the server has set a small take away bag on the table. Ellie stands, holding Fred in her arms.

  
"Let me," Alex pockets his wallet and opens his arms taking Fred gently not to wake him. Ellie doesn't protest, and she grabs her purse and the takeaway bag and nods that Alec can move out to the car.

  
He remembers this with Daisy when she'd fall asleep on the couch. Alec carries Fred out to the car, depositing him in his seat. "Yer gonna have ta do the buckles." He shrugs, "I'm- it's been a while."

  
Ellie pushes past him and snaps the sleeping boy into his chair. "Let me drop you at home. Daisy's probably home by now isn't she?" Ellie smiles at him, standing so close.

  
Alec nods, "Yeah, probably is." He pulls open the passenger side door and slides down into the car.

  
Ellie slides in beside him and sets her purse between them. "Thanks for dinner."

  
"Anytime," He says, doesn't catch what he's said quite as quickly. It's out of his routine. He's letting his guard down too much around her.

  
"Oh?" She smiles at him bright-eyed. "Anytime, eh?" She bit onto that like a fish with fresh bait.

  
He's stepped in it now might as well cross the muddy puddle, "Course, anytime." He feigns a smile and looks out the window again, this is far too domestic for his comfort level, but he can't tell if he doesn't want to do this, or wants to do it more often.

  
"You okay over there?" Ellie asks him after a prolonged silence. "Generally speaking, you're never this quiet."

  
"Yeah," Alec smiles as they drive toward his place. "Just thinking about the case." A lie, he's thinking about Ellie, and part of him says he shouldn't be. But she makes him laugh. The last time a woman did that was, well he can't remember. She doesn't make him a nervous wreck either, and that he thinks, is rare too.

* * *

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I have so much that I want to say to you, but I can't say a word."
> 
> -Michelle Burns

Daisy is waiting up for him as he slides the back door closed. "Hey, dad," She sits up on the couch, lowering her mobile phone.

  
"Hey darlin'," He checks his watch. "Should be in bed getting some rest you've got school tomorrow." He seems to have to remind her nightly that sleep is essential.

"Are you guys gonna find Thomas?" He did not expect Daisy to ask any questions about the case, though perhaps, he should have prepared for it, Thomas was a classmate. "Cause I'm worried about him."

  
His heart breaks at how sad she sounds about it, "We're sure gonna try darling," He pulls his jacket off and tosses it over the armchair beside the couch. "What's got ya worried about him?"

  
"People are talking at school," she shrugs and looks down to fiddle at her hands.

  
"They are?" He is curious what kids would say, they're terrible liars. "What kinds of things are they saying Daze?" He's not trying to make this an official inquiry, but he is her father, and if she wants to talk to him he's not going to stop her.

  
"Like they think he's dead or burned alive somewhere," She closes her eyes. "Like the worst kinds of horrible things, dad. I can't even repeat some of them." She shakes her head. "It's so awful what kids say,"

  
Alec sighs and turns his hands out to her. She comes, slowly into his arms. "Daze, ya gotta understand, people in large groups, they're usually brainless, mindless zombies," He murmurs into her hair. "Individuals, we can see through that kinda fog, if it's just us, or a few of us. It is easier to make an objective decision." He murmurs. "Be positive, let them know that we don't know anything as of yet, and there's no evidence to say the boy is dead. Remind them to be objective." That's the truth.

  
"I'll try," She sighs now, "Hearing all the talk is hard."

  
"Aye, it is." He agrees wholeheartedly. He pulls back from her slightly. "You know what this needs?"

  
"Cocoa?"

  
"Read my mind," he smiles at her. "let's go see if there are any of those marshmallows left."

  
"Might be." Daisy looks more chipper now. "How many do you want?" He thinks they both need the distraction.

  
"Just fill the mug with them." Alec teases. "The whole bloody bag."

  
"Hot Chocolate, marshmallows, hold the hot chocolate? "

  
Alec smiles at her from the couch. "Make a barista out of you yet, good first job making tea and coffee. Can ya spell mah name right on the cup is the question?" They smile and laugh a little together, and he's so glad she's smiling at him now. It beats the face he was greeted with when he returned home. "Just make it like yours, darling." He says kindly.

  
"Okay, dad." She pops into the kitchen, "Is Ellie picking you up tomorrow?" She smiles, "I got the laundry done so you'll just have to grab your clothes out of the washroom."

  
"Ah, thank you darlin'." She shouldn't be doing their laundry, he should be, but he's so grateful for everything she manages to get done. "Aye, Ellie will pick me up," he says, "Easier for me to work if she can drive." He has to keep this professional.

"You like her." Daisy smiles at him, standing in the kitchen doorway, holding the bag of marshmallows. He looks at her like she's crazy because the notion is. "You do! Don't you?"

  
He scoffs, "She's a good detective." Alec stands up and goes to the stereo. It's not a lie. "Good at her job." Daisy has snuck back into the kitchen.

  
"Not what I meant." She says from behind the kitchen wall. "You're thick sometimes, dad."

  
He turns to her shaking his head, "I know what you meant, but you're- wrong." He flips through the disks on top the stereo trying to find something. He rolls his eyes having stalled.

  
"Uh-huh." Daisy is giggling from the kitchen. "You like her, and I know it, and you should tell her that you do."

  
"Where's that hot chocolate Daze, or did you forget while teasing your father?" He has got to get her off this subject. Leave it to his daughter to properly interrogate him. She has too, and he feels like he's walking on eggshells now, at home as well as work. Daisy's learned from the best after all. As a father, the worst part is, Daisy knows that he's doomed. 

* * *

  
The next morning brings a flurry of people around him the moment he steps in the door out of the lift. "ALRIGHT BACK OFF, ONE AT A TIME." he turns to his right and grabs a folder. "Locker contents?"

  
"Yes, sir, both the main and gym lockers." The man responds but backs up out of his path.

  
"Got it, what's this?" A girl hands him another folder.

  
"The boy's backpack was found off Linden Lane just up the rise in a wooded area near a treehouse-"

  
"Get crime scene up there faster than humanly possible I want more information." He pushes through the rest. "MILLER! My office!"

  
She looks up from her desk and takes a file toward his doorway. Once inside, she shuts the door. "We should go out to where the backpack has been found." He turns to his desk. "Might be something there, perhaps his phone."

  
"Agreed." He says fixing his collar and tie. "Gonna see what's out there."

  
"Hopefully there's something to find it's been a few days."

  
Alec nods, "Up for driving?"

  
Ellie looks scandalized, "I'm not letting you do it, sir." She smirks at him. "Let's go."

* * *

  
  
Alec doesn't like how FISHY this all smells. He steps out of the underbrush. "It was found back there?" He points out into the mess of bushes and trees. It's a good 20 yards from the road and inside a long tree line.

  
"Yes, sir." PC Bob says, "Local kids found it playing." He points to a farmhouse just up the way, "They run in these trees because it's the only shade around I guess...there's a treehouse just a few yards back the kids said they could see it from there."

  
Alec looks back squinting, "Bag is red, so it'd stand out." he sighs, happy with the explanation. "Get the team up there and print the treehouse, we need to make sure he wasn't up there."

  
"Yes, sir," Bob nods and walks off.

  
Ellie appears near the entrance to the small wooded area and steps over a few sticks. "Spoke to the farmer said he built this 20 years ago for his kids. Now his grandkids play on it." She shrugs. "Hasn't seen anyone out here though save the kids, or so he says." She looks back, "Though to be honest, you cannot see the treehouse from the farm."

  
"Alabi?" Alec is walking a small perimeter around the treehouse, Ellie follows him.

  
"Pretty strong one, he was in town at church on Tuesday morning for the McArthur funeral, I was there, saw him myself."

  
Alec nods, remembering Ellie had been out of the office that morning. "Alright, gonna let C.S. get what they need, we can head back to town," Crime scene investigation is already there, and they're unloading their vans.

  
"K9 unit should be here at half-past two, and we can go to the school at about 3?"

  
"Schools out after 3, yeah that's good." Alec sighs. "Can you drop me by my place quickly? I need to get a few things beforehand."

  
Ellie nods. "Sure, that's no problem."

  
Alec turns around, "Where is the school relative to here?"

  
Ellie shakes her head and points back toward the treehouse. "Back through the trees, not far. Few hundred yards that way? Maybe a little more." She's not sure.

Looking off into the distance Alec nods, "Let's go, Miller," 

* * *

Ellie waits in the car while he rushes in and loads and runs the dishwasher and flips laundry very quickly. He grabs a bag, change of clothes, and some toiletries and leaves a quick note for Daisy and 20 quid on the table for takeaway.

  
He comes to the car tossing his bag in the back. "What is that for?"

  
"It's gonna be a long night, should run by your place get you a change of clothes, and you don't want to follow K9 dogs through the mud in that outfit."

  
"Who said there was gonna be mud?" She looks down at herself but acquiesces, "Okay, fine, that makes a bit of sense." Like he's never made sense before, and she looks like she wishes she would have thought of it first.

  
"Glad to be of service." He looks down at his phone a new text coming through to him. "C.S has lifted prints they're sending them off for review, and they found a t-shirt in the treehouse."

  
"So we just need to know when this all went down."

  
"Yea, his first two class instructors remember him having his backpack, the red one." Alec puts a finger to his lip and thinks. "So we know he left school between second and third period, right about 11." he sighs. "With his backpack."

"So we need to figure out what happened when between Tuesday midday," She looks over the wheel as she pulls out onto the main road. "And this afternoon when those kids found the bag."

  
"Agreed, we'll start our dog hunt at the School," Alec said, flipping through his emails. "We can assume if he had the backpack that morning that he ended up at the treehouse. Fingerprints might just put him there."

  
"Whatever you say."

  
That piques his interest, and he turns to look at her. "Whatever I say?"

  
"I take it back." She shakes her head at him, "Don't start with me, Miller."

  
"It's already out there, and you can't take it back." She says kindly. She nudges his shoulder. "Knob," she says playfully.

  
They don't say anything more as she pulls up at her house. "Let me grab a change of clothes, talk to dad about Fred, and I'll be right back."

"I'll be here." He says, tapping away a text on his phone.

  
"Better be," Ellie says and gets out of the car. "Don't want to file another 'missing persons' report." She smirks. "Can see it now, Alec Hardy stubborn arse of a detective missing. Help us find this useless shitface knob."

  
Alec scoffs. "Get your things, Miller." He looks up briefly from his phone. "Don't dawdle."

* * *

  
When they get to school, one of the teachers is eager to talk to them. Margaret Morris, English, and she's old, in her late 60s. Ellie smiles at her. "Mrs. Morris."

  
"Ellie Miller," The woman looks her up and down. "I wanted to bring something to your attention." She's speaking now to both of them.

  
Alec nods. "Anything that could be of help."

  
The older woman nods, "I took Thomas' phone away last week." She says, "He was texting on it."

  
"Doesn't seem like something out of the ordinary," Alec says, kindly.

  
"No, it doesn't," she agrees. "However on my desk, it buzzed constantly, Thomas was getting messages from a Joseph J. That looked well, desperate?"

  
"How so?" Ellie asked writing the info down.

  
"Things like 'Where are you?' and 'Why did you stop talking to me' and 'I need you.' and-" she takes a breath. "Things like 'I love you' and so on." She shrugs. "I just let it go, I told him not to bring the phone to class anymore."

  
Alec nodded. "Thank you,"

  
"Ellie call Mr. and Mrs. Kaine to see if you can get the text records, find out who this Joseph J. is and let's get him in for questioning."

  
"Thomas is a Kaine sir; his mother and step-father are Smiths."

  
Alec shakes his head, "Where's his real father?"

  
"Not sure," Ellie sighed. "I'll send an officer down to the lobby to speak to the mother see if we can get his info.

  
"Thank you for your help, ma'am." Alec shakes the woman's hand.

  
"You're welcome," She turns back to stand next to her co-workers. Teachers are lined up on the line, ready to help with the search.

  
"While I appreciate you all coming out today, this search will be conducted by myself, D.S. Miller, and the K-9 Unit." He nods at their saddened faces. "I know that's hard, but allowing the dog to search without distraction will greatly help speed up the investigation."

  
"D.I. Hardy, we're ready when you are!" The police officer comes round the car with the dog.

  
"Miller?" She seems to be finishing up her call and comes to his side. "Ready?"

  
"Yes," Alec rolls up his sleeves. He's in jeans, and a t-shirt with a flannel shirt over the top, and brown ankle boots he'd used to go hiking ONCE four years back. He checks his phone and badge in his pockets and grabs a bag off the hood of Ellie's car. "I've got his gym clothes, will that be enough for the dog to scent?"

  
"That'll do." The officer says, holding out a hand. "This is Abbey, lets she what she finds." He takes the bag and opens it. He turns the clothes over in his hands, letting the dog scent through them. "Good girl," The officer smiles when she starts looking away from the clothes. "Ready?"

  
"Let's go," Hardy sighs hoping his pacemaker can keep him on his feet this time. It's a small group, one k9 unit, and two officers, plus himself and Ellie who's coming up behind.

  
The dog turns sharply and starts to pull. The group pushes southward of the school, toward the direction of the tree-house. "I think that's a positive that Thomas left on foot," Ellie says coming up to his side, she's in jeans, a t-shirt, and her police jacket as well, but she's wearing knee-high wellingtons that are decorated in red and yellow roses on a Navy colored boot. Alec stores all of it; the boots, and flowers, and colors to his memory.

  
"Looks like it." Alec nods.

  
"Got Katie looking up this text messenger, and searching for his birth father." She says, "Should know something in a few hours."

  
"We didn't get a hit on the boy's phone, did we?"

  
"No, it was turned off on Tuesday morning before school." Ellie looks down stepping over a large branch. "Couldn't locate it via GPS."

  
Alec steps over a log and offers Ellie a hand to help her over too because it's tough to get footing here. They're getting into some thick underbrush. "He couldn't have gone this way." Alec sighs, "Too thick back here." he cranes his head slightly to avoid a branch.

  
The officer looks up. "He could have sir, Abbey's hit onto something." The dog is still trying to dig into the underbrush.

  
"We push through if we can." Alec comes to one side as the officer goes through with the dog where she wants to go.

  
"Ugh, this isn't good." She makes sure her sleeves are down, and she zips her jacket. He ducks under some branches and into the underbrush following the dog.

  
"Gonna get snagged on something for sure." Alec rolls his sleeves down. "Gotta keep out the brambles." He points nearby, "And briars." He shakes his head. "Kid would be small enough to get through here."

  
"He's nearly fifteen, and he was as big as Tom."

  
Alec knows Tom is taller than his mother and nods. "So he was going this way because he didn't have a choice?" He hisses as a briar scratches his hand. "Bloody thorns."

  
"You alright?" Ellie asks hands stuffed in her pockets as she carefully moves through the brush.

  
"Fine, keep up with Abbey." He nods toward the dog who's getting away from them.

  
"Working on it." She pushes ahead, and he follows catching her a few times as she slips on the underbrush. The dog hits on something hard and stops.

  
The officer pulls out a tennis ball for her, and she lays down chewing on it for a while. Ellie reaches them first putting on a glove and reaching into her jacket pocket for an evidence bag.

  
"What have we got?" Alec asks.

  
"School ID." She nods "Thomas Kaine." she holds it up, and Alec nods.

  
"He came this way." He says, "Can she keep going?"

  
"Yeah." The officer pulled the ball away and motioned to his partner to give back the gym clothes. "One more time Abs." He says kindly to the dog who sniffs at the clothing and turns, giving the space on the floor where the I.D. had been a sniff, and she continues forward.

  
They go for a few hundred more yards through the thick brush and end up where they don't expect to be for at least a mile, under the tree-house.

  
The dog is hitting on the tree-house and the spot on the ground where the backpack had been. She turns suddenly heading over a large log to catch on something behind it.

  
"Didn't C.S. Cover this whole area?" Alec asks.

  
"Thought they did," Ellie said. "Must have missed something."

  
The officer came around the log. "Cell phone!" The officer says.

  
Alec comes over and around the log. "Lass ya did well," He tells the dog. "Gonna get ya a prime rib." he takes a stick and pushes the leaves away from the phone.

  
Ellie kneels and reaches with her gloves to pick up the phone. "Never get me prime rib," she says and turns the phone over. "Shattered screen." She looks at it more. "It's smashed pretty well."

  
"Let's get it to C.S. see what they can get from it." He holds out a bag, and she drops the phone inside. "Might have a number for this Joseph J."

  
The dog is still moving behind them towards the road. Abby doesn't appear to be able to get any further, she circles back.

  
"We're not getting anything more, Sir," the officer says, "It's like it stops here."

  
"At the road?" Alec looks over.

  
Ellie meets his eyes. "Got in a car, maybe?"

"Maybe," Alec looks at the phone in the bag. "Come on, let's get back to the station, Tom and Daze should be there by now."

  
Ellie nods, "They are, Katie picked them up after school, they're in your office." She says, taking the bag from him and sealing it. "What she said when I called in,"

  
"Great," he says with sarcasm.

  
"About that prime rib."

  
"Drop it, Miller." He pushes past her, "Move your Wellingtons we gotta get back."

  
She sighs deeply behind him, and he hates to egg her on, but he is trying to keep up the status quo.

* * *

Alec takes a moment, the moment they are back in the office, to toss everyone out of his office so he can change back into his suit. He also takes a moment to clean the blood from the back of his hand.

  
He opens the door again and motions Daisy and Tom back inside. "Sit." He points at the couch. He doesn't tell them anything about the case, but he grabs the two evidence bags and runs them out his door. "Katie get these things to C.S. I want them processed as soon as possible."  
"Yes sir," Katie says, taking them in her hands and turning the bags over, before standing up and heading down the hall.

  
"Dad, your hand." Daisy frowns at the cut.

  
"S'fine, Darlin." He sits down.

  
Ellie appears a short time later, putting her bag of spare clothes at her desk and headed toward his office. She pulls the door closed once she's inside, and she takes a seat across from Alec's desk.

  
"Alright," Alec takes a moment to let out a breath. "You are both gonna be questioned. Tom, you're going with me to an interview room, Daisy, you'll go with Miller."

  
"Did we do anything wrong?" Daisy asked. "Like are we in trouble?"

  
"No, but you know Thomas, so we just want to ask a few questions." Ellie smiles at them. "You're not in any trouble, we just need to know the boy a little better, and you're the best people to ask about him." He stands up out of his chair and rounds to the side of his desk.

  
"Pretty standard questions," Ellie pipes up, "And we'll be recording your answers on tape."

  
"I don't want to do this," Tom said, "People are gonna talk."

  
"You already walked through the doors lad; they're gonna talk anyway," Alec says, sitting on the edge of his desk. "The person you should be worried about is your mum." He points at Ellie. "Heard about your phone and your notebook, hammer, huh? Awful way to destroy things, hammers." Ellie smiles at him, and he nearly goes undone. He clears his throat and pushes up off his desk.

  
Tom looks down and doesn't speak. Daisy looks over at him, but she knows better than to say anything too. "Well now that we've embarrassed them to death, Daisy, would you come with me?" Ellie stands up. "We'll go across the hall to one of the interview rooms."

  
"Okay." She grabs her backpack and stands up, "Dad, can we get dinner after this?"

  
Alec checks his watch and nods. "If nothing else pops up, maybe."

  
Ellie smiles, "And if something does, you can get take away with Tom, Fred, and Me." She is so good at that, the parenting, the understanding, open to help and assist anyone who needs it. Alec looks down. Must be hard, he thinks, when she is also struggling and overwhelmed.

  
Daisy smiles brightly, "Thanks, Ellie."

  
"Come on now." Ellie smiles back at Alec and leaves the room pulling the door shut.

  
Alec grabs a folder and motions Tom to get up. "Come on. We have to go to an interview room too."

"Why?" Tom asks.

  
"Because we have to record everything, remember?" Alec says, pulling his door open and grabbing a blank tape out of a box ontop a file cabinet just outside his door.

  
The interview room is small. Ellie's taken the larger of the two. It is in better shape so it should put Daisy at ease, he thinks.

  
Tom comes into the room and sits down at a seat. Alec pops the tape in the recorder and sighs gently. "Friday, September 6th. Thomas Miller interview. Questions about Thomas Kaine, Missing persons."

  
Thomas looks at Alec like he's going to be in trouble. "Relax Tom," Alec tries to smile. "Just a few questions, shouldn't be too hard."

  
"Okay," Tom leans forward on the table, putting his hands on the desk. He laces his fingers together and waits.

  
"Did you know a Thomas Kaine?"

"Yeah," Tom clears his throat, "We are in the same class. We had Maths, and Civics together, Gym too." He fiddles with his fingers. "Twice a month we did film club."

  
"What was the last film you watched?"

  
"That old Rabbit Cartoon Watership Down," Alec remembers how graphic that movie is but nods. "He didn't like it." Tom shrugs, "He ignored it mostly."

  
"Did you?"

  
"Yeah kinda, I liked the fighting at the end. Lots of blood." Tom shuts his mouth like he's overshared something he shouldn't.

  
"Was there a film you remember him liking?"

  
"Um, yeah one," he shakes his head. "We watched this new Shakespeare thing, and he was super into it. Had guns and things instead of swords."

"Did he like guns?"

  
"I dunno," Tom shrugged, "I just knew he paid real good attention to that film."

  
"So did Thomas have any close friends? Girlfriend?"

  
"He kinda stayed alone most of the time." Tom explains, "Sat in the back, didn't do a lot. Didn't talk too much."

  
"Did he participate in classes?" Alec takes a few notes and looks back up at Tom.

  
"Oh yeah, if a teacher called on him, he always had an answer, usually the right one." he frowns. "Super smart, but he didn't like people so much."  
Alec nods, "So no, girlfriend?"

  
"Not that I knew of?" Tom shrugs, "I mean, I didn't spend a lot of time with him." Tom shakes his head.

  
"Why is that?"

  
"I'm trying to stay away from lots of people," Tom admitted, "Trying not to do anything to get mom upset."

  
"Yer mum is a force to be reckoned with I'm sure," Alec smirks attempting to be kind.

  
Tom nods. "Yeah, a right bitch sometimes." Tom's tone is depressed like he hates that he's keeping himself from having friends. Alec can feel the fire in his chest at the statement.

  
"OI!" Alec smacks the table, but not hard, just enough to make Tom look at him. "That's your mother, young man." Alec leans over the counter. "And if someone hadn't been looking at porn on his phone, he might not be saying things like that, now would he?" Alec sits back.  
"Sorry, sir," Tom sighs and looks down now.

  
"Phones are bloody annoying, social media, twitter- ugh." He doesn't want to even start on his loathing of twitter.

  
Tom sits up, tapping the table with a finger before sputtering out a sentence. "Phones. Thomas always had a smartphone." He starts giving up information as if it's suddenly come to him from nowhere. "He was always texting or reading something."  
Alec lets his internal rant slide, continuing the interview is paramount. "Did he make any calls? Talk to anyone?"

  
"I never saw him make calls with it, just texting," Tom says making this thumbs go across an invisible screen in his hands.

  
Alec sighs, "There's a treehouse off linden lane," he says, "Do you know about it, back in the brush?"

  
Tom shakes his head, "No, sir."

  
Alec nods and moves down his list, and they still had seven more students to question. 

* * *

To be continued 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There’s no substitute for a great love who says, ‘No matter what’s wrong with you, you’re welcome at this table." -Tom Hanks
> 
> Author's note:  
I am sorry this chapter was a few days coming....I have struggled with the desire to write, the desire to share, and I've had to remind myself I do this for ME...and repeat myself too many times. I want to put these on A03 to keep them. If people want to read them and come along for the ride GREAT! I'm so happy you're here with me, but remember I do not do this for aclaim, no kudos are needed, and thanks for coming down this long road with me, if you've decided it's a path you wish to walk. <3

****

  
Ellie comes into the office just after their interviews finish up, shutting the door to give them a little bit of peace, "I didn't get much from Daisy, only that Thomas didn't say much, and used his phone a lot. She didn't think he had a girlfriend, and he didn't attend the last dance at the school." She shrugs, "I mean it's just about the same as what every one of their instructors said. Katie's transcripts all pretty much look the same."

  
"That's not a lot to go on," Alec sighs deeply through his nose and looks around aimlessly.

  
"Daisy said he was a pretty smart kid, but she said he was always distracted." Ellie turned her head, looking at her notes beside her. "Quote, like he had other things on his mind, end quote."

  
"Tom said much of the same." Alec stares at her. "We have seven more students to question, and at least two more of his instructors."

  
"We'll only get four of the students, parents of three of them refused to allow their children to go through the interview at all. We have DNA from the instructors and students who would volunteer it, Tom and Daisy, too."

  
"Those parents opting out wouldn't be so happy if, what I mean is, Miller, what if it were their child missing? They'd be in here demanding we talk to everyone." Alec sighs fingers going straight to his hair. "Why are people stupid, Miller?"

  
She sits down in a chair across from his desk. "I can't answer that, sir." She can't, he knows it, but he needed to vent his frustrations out, even if it was in the form of a question that no one could answer.

  
"I should take Daze home for something to eat." He sighs and eyes his watch, damn it was getting late. Maybe he can get some semblance of sleep tonight.

  
"You could stand to eat something too, sir" Ellie stands "We'll get pizza or something. Be good for the kids." She offers kindly, and he knows when she offers like this, it's mostly for the benefit of the children.

  
Alec shakes his head, "You can take Daze and me home. We got things around the house." He's tired, he is, and Alec's not sure if he can handle being in Ellie's orbit in a more intimate environment. He can't think of what he'd actually say or do besides be a lump of anxious silent nerves in a corner.

  
"What are you so afraid of?" she laughs, but he knows it's not at him. "Come on, stop being a Knob for once." It's starting to sound like an endearment at this point. She is waiting, impatiently for him.

  
"Just tired is all," he taps his chest. "Not sleeping well." A personal admission if ever there was, and it's not even a lie. Part of him hopes she understands, that she'll just let him go home. Part of him can't believe he was just forthcoming with her. What's wrong with him?

  
Ellie smiles, seeming happy he's admitted something, "Alright, I'll drive you and Daisy home." Her voice is soft and understanding. He's glad for these small victories, no more questions, no kindhearted suggestions, just understanding.

  
"Thanks, Miller," Alec nods, grabbing a few things off his desk. There's a sigh of relief in his heart, and he's more at ease now.

Ellie exits out, and a few moments later, Daisy is in his face. "Dad." She's pleading with him. "Come on, please?"

  
"No, Daisy." He knows what's coming, he can feel it. "I'm exhausted, and we have food at the house."

  
"Come on!" She whispers over his desk. "Dinner with Ellie." She is practically bouncing. "This is good!"

  
"No." Alec smiles. "I see her all day I do not need any more reminders, especially not from you." He pushes in his center desk drawer and locks it.

  
Daisy smiles. "Can I go with them?" She says, "Ellie can bring me home after."

  
Alec looks up at her like she has got to be joking. "So you can go in and cause more trouble?" He scoffs, "I think not."

"Dad." She stands up hands on her hips.

  
"Daisy, don't." Alec looks at her and sighs, putting his phone in his pocket.

  
"Okay, you two," Ellie pops in the door. "Let's get you home."

  
"Dad says we'll get Pizza," Daisy says out of nowhere, well it's not out of nowhere, but he's already told her no. The sounds that try to escape his mouth get muffled.  
"Daze..." it's all he can think to say, but it's between closed teeth at a distance.

  
"Great!" Ellie smiles, and something tells him she knows what's happened, "Tom, let's get to the car." Ellie and Tom head for the lift, and he glares daggers at Daisy.  
"What do you think you're doing?" Alec comes around hands immediately find his hips.

  
"Sorry?" She grabs her bag. "Come on!" She pulls at his arm. "Come on, dad," she smiles up at him brightly. "Please?"

  
Alec rolls his eyes and sighs, and he can do this, yes he can. "Fine." He says exasperated, and she jumps up. They've had dinner before, he and Ellie. Even with Fred, her five-year-old, but Fred isn't trying to hook them up. He's scared of what Daisy will do. It's strange, that if it were he and Ellie and Fred; Alec would say yes. All Fred ever asks for at dinner, is dessert.

* * *

Ellie takes them back to her house, Alec makes a bee-line for the living room to sit with her father, he's watching football on the TV, and he can AVOID everyone by pretending to take an interest in the TV. He mostly looks at his phone, going over emails from the crime scene investigators and hoping that something more fulfilling comes through.

  
Ellie orders the food on her cell phone in the hallway, and he can hear the order. She then brings him a glass of water, he thanks her for it. "Do you follow?" Ellie's father asks, breaking him out of his thoughts, as Ellie leaves the room again.

  
"I use to, a long time ago when I had time to partake in it," Alec says with a sigh. "Too much to do now to keep up on it." He goes back to his phone, typing out a fast response with his thumbs. He's hoping there's a break in the case, that they can go work. Something to get them out of this house.

  
Fred comes in and crawls up on the couch beside him, quietly and watches the TV too. "Hey there, wee Fred." Alec smiles down.

  
"Hi," Fred, the little zombie, doesn't even look up from the TV. "Are they winning again?"

  
Ellies father nods. "Yes, Freddie they are!"

  
Alec realizes that perhaps Fred doesn't understand what is going on and that he wants someone to win, anyone to win. "What's your favorite part?" Alec asks him.  


"The end, the confetti." he tosses his hand up, "They pour things on people." Alec smiles, just like a child to like a party.

  
Ellie pops in a few minutes later. "should be half six when the pizza gets here." she sets some cash on the table. "Just in case I can't get the door." She tells Alec.

  
"I got it." He insists. "Miller?" He has a question on his tongue.

  
She stops and turns to him. "Yes?"

  
"Where are Daisy and Tom?" That's not the question he truly wants to ask.

  
"Outback in the garden, Tom's got a skateboard, they're trying to break their arms on his little ramp." She makes a flip with her finger. "Or jump the board or something." she shrugs. "I have no idea what they think they are trying to do, was never really something I followed too much." he can see as much as feel her leaving out something from the conversation.

  
Alec stands up and moves across the room to look out the window. He can see Daisy laughing while sitting on the grass. Tom reaches down helping her up. "no, it's like this." He sets the board down and stands on it. He's at least relieved, being outside there's less a chance for something to happen with Ellie. Tom manages an ollie and helps Daisy to try again. Alec beams when she falls on her butt again, but she gets back up. That's his girl, never giving up. He's doomed, he lets out a sigh, so doomed. How did it take him this long to figure that part out?

  
"Any broken arms yet?" Ellie asks, standing so close he can feel her. He hadn't heard her step up beside him, he's let his guard down.

  
"Not yet, but here's to hoping." and he is, sort of, at least he could leave if Daisy broke her arm. He's not thrilled about the prospects of sitting in the ER all night.

Ellie gives his arm a playful smack. "You're evil."

  
"You have no idea." He says back shoving his hands in his pockets.

  
Ellie turns around to her father and Fred. "These two zombies." She waves a hand. "You two gonna watch football all night?"

  
"Yes." They say in unison.

  
Alec turns now, "They say it skips a generation." He says evenly.

  
"Indeed it has." she agrees.

* * *

They eat, gathered around the dining room table, where Ellie's dad and Fred can still see the game. Daisy and Tom are looking at something on her phone, and Alec mostly looks out the window he's seated near, taking a bite of his pizza.

  
"Hey, Ellie," Daisy looks up from her phone.

  
"Yes, love?"

  
"Can I talk to you a minute?" Daisy points toward the kitchen. Alec pales, and shoots her a glare but says nothing.

  
"Of course, grab those dishes, and we'll go into the kitchen." The girls sneak off, and Alec watches the kitchen door for a long time. He can see Ellie talking to Daisy, but can't see daisy for the door frame. Ellie looks out at him once but smiles fondly. He looks away as though caught, and that burns.

  
"Girls are strange," Tom says, looking over at him.

  
Alec nods, "That's a fair assessment lad, you just keep that in mind, especially with Daisy." Tom nods at him scoots over to sit by Fred who's eyes are plastered to the TV.

  
Alec sees Daisy come out and go down the hall, so he stands takes his plate and takes a stilling breath. He can do this.

  
He walks into the kitchen and sets the plate down by the sink. "Everything alright?" He is concerned, but he tries to keep it casual.

  
Ellie smiles at him. "Girl stuff." She says calmly. "She asked if I had any-" She doesn't finish, she doesn't have to, he gets it. he holds up his hand to stop her.  


"Ah, well if she's all sorted that's, good." Alec feels better already if a bit embarrassed about having to talk about these things with Ellie, but he's glad if she was here for his daughter. He was very glad when his ex-wife dealt with all the girly stuff. He'd have never managed it. 

  
He fills his glass in the sink and turns around, looking out the window on the side of the kitchen. Leaning on the counter he takes a drink of water. He is lost in thought and trying to keep his mind from wandering too far.

  
"Daisy also said she's been trying to set you and I up on a date." He sputters, has to try not to choke, and makes a hmmm sound. "Fanciful ideas these kids get," she says as he coughs slightly, water down the wrong pipe.

  
"Yeah, fanciful." He agrees as he clears his throat.

  
Ellie looks at him, "She's right; you are bad at this." There's no laughter just a smile, and he nods at her.

  
"The worst." He agrees. "They call me Shitface, you know." he has to insist, "You don't want to be associated with that." A perfect argument against all this, talk of dinner dates. A classic deflection he thinks.

  
"Oh, like I'm not already?" she dries off a plate and sets it on a rack. "Wanker." She murmurs.

  
"Miller." He responds as if it's the only insult he has, he **is** terrible at this. He can see that now. He takes a breath and nods he's lost this fight. "Tomorrow night, half seven?" It's like jumping off a cliff, with no rope, or parachute, or anything. Fuck him, his chest feels tight, but not like he remembers a heart attack feeling. 

  
"I'll pick you up." She says and continues to wash dishes without looking over at him.

  
Alec turns tail and gets out of the kitchen before he starts doing more crazy things. What has he just agreed to? He's decided to go on a date with Ellie Miller. He takes a breath in and out. He IS doomed, and by the wide grin on Daisy's face, there's no escape. His phone chimes and he looks down. Pulling it out of his pocket he shakes his head at the screen. "Miller, get your coat." He looks at Daisy. "Stay here with the boys, help Fred and Tom's grandad if he needs it, we'll be back as soon as possible." 

Ellie comes to his side and looks at his phone. "Oh," she nods "Daisy if it gets late you can sleep in my room Tom will show you where it is." she looks at the mess on the table. 

"I'll get it cleaned up," Daisy says as Alec grabs his jacket. "Go with dad."

* * *

To be continued....


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kissing someone is pretty intimate, actually very intimate, and your heart always kind of skips a beat before you do that." - 
> 
> Keanu Reeves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have had too many reviews that really didn't add to the relevance of the story or served to hurt myself or others. I have turned on COMMENT MODERATION, please still feel free to comment.

  
Ellie tosses the car in park, and the two get out of the vehicle. P.C. Bob walks up, shaking his head. "I don't think it's Kaine, doesn't quite match his description little too old I'd guess, but CS is here and taking all kinds of samples, we're still waiting on the ambulance to take the body. "  
Alec nods. "Thanks, Bob."

  
Ellie hands him a set of gloves and steps around him to go up to the body. She takes in a breath and puts her hands over her nose as she kneels.

  
"Body been here a bit?" Alec asks, and Bob can only nod.

  
"Hikers found him." Bob shrugs "CS gonna have a better idea of how long he's been out here."

  
Alec steps around Bob to see for himself, and it's true, this is an older man, and taller than the boy they are looking to find. He looks over at Ellie. "Call Katie to take this up, see if she can keep on them."

  
"Are you sure?"

  
"Well until, we get a coroners report and, know how he died." He sighs, "If his death is suspect we'll talk with the CI and see what she wants to do, might split us up." He stands up tall. "You can keep on the Kaine case, and I can deal with this if it comes to that."

  
Ellie shakes her head "Oh no, I get the dead body, at least I know where he is."

  
Alec can't help his smile at her. Turning to the crime scene officials around, he starts barking orders. "I want photos of the whole scene, and I need forensics on the body, clothes everything whole nine yards. As soon as humanly possible, this is a priority." It's dark out, and he steps back nearly tripping but catches himself.

  
Ellie is using her gloved hand to reach in the man's rear pocket to pull out a wallet. "Did you ask me to dinner tomorrow? Cause the last few hours been a bit hazy." She says quietly to the ground, not making eye contact.

  
Alec steps up closer to her now. "I did." Alec takes the wallet she hands up, and he flips it open. He swallows and starts to thumb through the inside. "Forty quid." That, and two credit cards, and a gift card for a chippy on the pier. He pulls out the man's I.D. " Joseph J. Jameson."

  
" Joseph J?" Ellie looked up. "Could this be connected to our missing person's case? The boy had been messaging a Joseph J. according to his teacher."

  
"Not sure but that's a compelling theory. We need to go over the teacher's statement again," he offers the wallet to a crime scene investigator and bags it. "Tentative ID of Joseph Jameson."

  
Alec kneels. "No fish." He mutters, getting back to the conversation about their date as he scans the ground under the body. "Nothing fried please."

  
"Oh damn, no chippy then?" She smirks over, making eye contact with him as she pulls a cell phone out of the jacket pocket and holds it for a moment turning it over. "Still on."

  
"Can you get in it?"

  
She attempts to swipe the screen across and sighs when it wants a passcode. "No passcode locked." She offers it up to a CS holding a bag. "Let's get that looked at asap."

  
"Yes, ma'am." The investigator says and steps away with it.

  
"There's a nice Italian place up the coast," she says kindly. "Might not even know us there."

  
"I like that idea." Alec agrees. "Tomorrow or do we want to reschedule?"

  
"Tomorrow is fine as long as nothing like this pops up." she nods "Katie can keep an eye on everything coming in and contact us if she needs us."

  
Alec nods, "We'll let crime scene do what they do, get back in the office early."

  
"I can pick you up at half six after I drop Fred at the care center."

  
"I'll be ready," Alec says and stands up.

* * *

Daisy is fussing with his tie. "I look fine." He glances at his watch and then looks down at her.

  
"It's all crooked." She pulls at his neck.

  
"It is not Daze." He grabs her hands, pushing them back, and he looks in the mirror and adjusts the tie again.

  
"Look I've never been where we're going, Daze." Alec sighed. "Miller-" He stops. "Ellie said it was up the coast a bit."

  
"I think you will have a great time." She smiles at him.

  
Alec nods. "I sure hope so, Daisy." His smile is bright as he pulls her into a hug. "And you don't mind this?"

  
"I have been trying to put you both together for the better part of a week now." Daisy shakes her head as she smiles at him. "I don't mind." She reaches up to fuss with his hair. "Mom's gonna marry that guy, you deserve to be happy too."

  
Alec can't respond to the information he's just gotten, so Tess is going to marry that asshole. Alec looks up at the clock. "She'll be here any minute." He says and takes another glance in the mirror to put his hair back.

  
Daisy smiles at him. "Doors, chairs-"

  
"I know how to do this." Alec insists. "Your acting like I don't know what to do on a date."

  
"Do you?" Daisy smiles at him brightly. She giggles at him. "It's been a long time."

  
"How many dates have you been on?" That shuts her up.

  
She doesn't answer; she looks away before she even can, "I just want this to go well, dad." She hugs him as if to hide her embarrassment from him.

  
"How do you imagine you got here in the first place? It was from dates going well." He leans down, kissing her cheek. "Bed at a reasonable hour, Daze."

  
She agrees as he leaves her out the back door; He slides it shut and locks her inside. He turns to the car to see Ellie waiting on him.

  
Adjusting his tie, he comes to the car and pulls the passenger door open and slides inside. "Well, don't you look handsome."

  
Alec smiles at her "Thank you, you look lovely too." She's wearing black leggings and nicely cut red top. He never remembers her wearing red, but he'll be the first to admit he likes it. "Very." He adds quietly.

  
"Oi," she gives his arm a playful shove. "That's entirely enough of that."

  
"So," he takes a stilling breath. "Where to?"

  
"Dinner." She smiles. "Italian unless you were gonna come through on that Prime Rib promise."

  
"Are we still on that train?" He pulls his seatbelt on and extends his hand. "By all means, dinner."

  
The restaurant is excellent, lines of tables with white table cloths and dim lighting. "It's like the bloody Ritz in here," Ellie says softly.

  
"The Ritz," he holds up two fingers to the host to tell him how many are in their party. "is much nicer than this, and much brighter."

  
"You've been to the Ritz."

  
"Not for dinner," Alec assured as they followed the host to a small table in the back.

  
Alec pulled her chair back, and Ellie sat down, thanking him. He came around to his seat and sat down, the host handing them their menus.

  
Alec nodded, "Steak and seafood. Not bad Mil- Ellie." He reached up, smoothing down his tie. "I'll get used to it, eventually."

  
"Maybe?" She smiled at him, "But you don't like your first name."

  
Alec nodded, "I don't." He agreed, "But it's mine, and if you wish to use it, for-"

  
"When we're not at work?" Ellie smiled at him.

  
"Yea." He smiles at her and looks up at the server who has appeared. "Um, water, lemon."

  
"House red," She says, "And water." She glances at the menu. "Oh look Prime Rib." she smiles and they both chuckle.

  
Alec smiles at her but looks at his menu. "So she told you in the kitchen?"

  
Ellie shakes her head "Oh no, she told me in the interrogation room after the tape was shut off." Ellie nods. Alec sighs profoundly and closes his eyes. "I mean, I suspected as much now for weeks now, Alec." it is strange to hear her say his name.

  
Alec opens his eyes, "You did?"

  
She nods, "And I confirmed it with tea the other morning, Daisy just further confirmed what I already was suspecting." She smiles.

  
"And that was?"

  
Ellie smiled brightly at him. "That you were fancy on me." She admits.

  
Alec shakes his head and hides in his menu a moment, finding something that he could tolerate to eat. "And how did you know for sure?"

  
Ellie shrugs, "Started when you stopped screaming so much," she shrugs "you just got more personable all of a sudden one week, I didn't question it, didn't want to jinx it. Considered it was one of two things, that you were dying again, or you were feeling things-"

  
Alec scratches his chin and nods. "And?"

  
"And I tested my theory out. I brought you tea the other day to see your reaction. It was rather tame, and you even tried it. Had it been your first week here, you would have tossed it at me." Ellie smiled and folded her menu shut.

  
"Says the woman who said she'd piss in a cup and throw it at me." Alec leans forward, whispering it. It takes a moment, but they both end up laughing.

  
Their laughter dies down. "We can't get into Jameson's phone." she sounds almost frustrated.

  
"I saw the report from CS this morning, said he died from drowning." Alec looks across.

  
"He was nowhere near water." Ellie points out. "He was on a walking path, the coast was over a mile away."

  
"So he was moved there." Alec makes that leap because it's the only one he can think to make. "Laying face up in the brush."

  
"So the person who put him there cared about him. If they didn't, they would have just tossed him down." She suggests.

  
He leans on the table on his elbows and tents his fingers. "Doesn't make any sense."

  
"Never does." She says kindly.

  
Their drinks arrive, and they give their orders, Alec has a wave of relief, he feels better about the date already.

  
"So it's someone who knows him, cares about him," Ellie says after taking a drink of wine.

  
"I agree," Alec says, poking his lemon into his water with a fork. "Someone he knew did this, and moved him."

  
"So if we assume these cases are related." Ellie sighs and sets her wine down.

  
"We can't assume anything, Ellie." Alec looks down. He must get used to calling her that.

  
"Crime Scene needs to hurry." She says.

  
"It is never fast." Alec agrees with her, "Rape kits? Still six months back."

  
"How does that help anyone?"

  
Alec shrugged, "Suppose it doesn't."

  
She took another drink of her wine. "Thank you for this."

  
"Thank me?" he looks positively shocked. "It was your idea, this place."

  
"Yeah but you're the one who asked me out."

  
"Daisy did it." He shakes his head. "She just thinks I'm lonely."

  
"And are you?" Ellie smiled at him. "Are you lonely, Alec?"

  
"I spend so much time working on cases, filling out paperwork," he has to think about what she's asked. Are you lonely? Is he? "Maybe sometimes." it's not an entire untruth. "I can be, yes." he amends.

  
"Well, we'll just have to work on that." He likes the sound of that, he does.

  
Halfway through dinner, his phone rings. "Oh, don't." She rolls her eyes. "Don't do it. Let them call Katie."

  
He can't help it; he pulls it up. "It is Katie," He opens the handset. "Hardy," he answers, pushing the phone on his ear. He looks across at her, a beat passes and his eyes widen. "They found a boy near the woods on the north side of town." He nods and puts his attention back to the phone, "We'll be right there." Alec snaps his phone shut and pockets it.

  
He grabs his napkin and wipes his mouth. "We're on the clock." He snags the waiter as he passes and flashes his badge. "Run the check." he hands the man his card.

  
Ellie stands up and grabs her keys out of her bag. "I was having a good time."

  
Alec comes around to her side of the table and nods. "I'll make it up to you." He assures hands deep in his pockets. "I promise." he pulls a hand out and takes the keys as if he has just recalled something. "You've had wine."

  
When the waiter returns he offers the card back, and a slip and Alec fill it out quickly as he can and then ushers Ellie out the doors. "They're not gonna wait for us to arrive on the scene, they're taking him to the hospital to be checked out." He pulls his phone out as they get in the car. "I've got the address."

  
"That's where we'll head then." Ellie watches as he pushes the keys into the ignition. "Seatbelt."

  
Alec does as told, but before he can put the car into gear, he pulls her toward him slightly, she pauses as he leans in and plants a soft, chaste, kiss on her cheek. His heart has not stopped pounding in his ears. 

  
"What's that for?" She asked, pushing back slightly. She looks in shock — her fingers ghost over her cheek.

  
"Was gonna end the date with a kiss and say thank you. The date has got to end early, and I won't probably have another opportunity to thank you. If that was too forward-" He stalls. 

"It was perfect." Ellie smiles at him.

"I will make this up to you, and we'll go get Prime Rib." He insists again, he means it.

She smiles at him, touching his face. "I know you will, wanker," Her voice is a sweet balm to his panicked heart. "But there's a boy." She pulls her hand back. 

  
He can see how that can kill a mood, "Yup." he puts the car in gear. "To the boy."

  
Ellie pulls her phone out and dials, "Calling Katie back." she explains. It takes a moment for her to start talking. "Don't let anyone talk to the child aside from the doctors who are doing the initial intake. We're going to take him back and interview him tonight, once they release him. We'll need those doctors reports too, yeah, thanks, Katie."

  
Alec sighs as Ellie finishes the call and hangs up.

  
"Just gets better and better." He says and reaches over to her and takes her hand.

  
"A kiss on the cheek and holding hands, that's a bold move, Hardy." Ellie blushes beside him, and he can't help but smile, he'd stare if he wasn't driving. "Gonna lose money in the office pool." He looks scandalized briefly and she laughs. "kidding." 

  
"If you don't want to-" Alec sighs but gives her a comforting squeeze. 

  
She doesn't let his hand go. "This is good news finding the boy," she assures going back to the topic at hand.

  
"The boy is alive."

  
"He is," She nods. "Now we just gotta figure out what happened between Tuesday morning and now."

  
"Yeah, we'll see if we can't figure out what happened."

* * *

To Be continued 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned.”  
― Richard Feynman

****

  
Six hours of questions and nothing from the boy, Alec didn't get much information at all before the parents arrived and little else after. Alec asks the question he's been waiting to ask them, do they know a Mr. Jameson? The parents bottle up nearly instantly and demand they stop questioning them and their son — request his phone, and a slew of other items. They want to stop the questions.   
Hardy reluctantly lets the boy go with his mother and stepfather. He can't keep him, but he can delay the return of the objects they want the most, the boy's phone. The things they have requested, he files the request in a folder and will deal with it in the morning, later in the morning anyway.

  
Alec walks into his office and slaps a folder onto his desk before falling, unceremoniously, into his chair. He takes his glasses off and tosses them to the desktop with a little more force than he intended.

  
He closes his eyes and counts to ten, takes a deep breath, and tries to breathe through his frustration.

  
"Got the positive I.D. back on the body, and confirmed cause of death, we've notified next of kin, and hope to be able to have something- are you okay?" Ellie walked in rambling on.

  
Alec nods fervently opening his eyes. Reaching up to scratch his head, he nods. "Yeah, 'm alright." He murmurs.

  
Ellie looks at her watch and groans. "It's nearly half-past two." she grabs his jacket off the coat rack and offers it to him. "Let's get you home," she suggests, and it's a good suggestion. "You could use some sleep."

Alec takes his jacket in his right hand and stands up, pulling it on around his shoulders. "Sorry that tonight was- interrupted."

  
"Don't be sorry." Ellie smiles at him, leaning up against his desk. "Work is work. We have to do this." she shrugs. "We want to do this, don't we?"

  
"Of course I want to do this, but-" He shrugs "We were doing something else." he yawns "We just need-"

  
"You just need some bloody sleep is all." She interrupts him. Ellie is mothering, and she's good at it. He appreciates it but could not say so out loud. Another sage nod escapes him instead. "Come on," She pulls his arm. "We'll come back at it in the morning." She says softly. "Look at all the records we pulled, and see what we can find."

  
He stands there next to her, and it's like they are frozen together. "Is everyone gone?"

  
She nods, "Yes, even Katie. I didn't have to ask her twice this time."

  
"Ellie?"

  
"Yes, Alec?" She looks up at him with a smile.

  
He touches her face softly and smiles at her. "I don't know-"

  
Ellie pushes up on her toes to kiss his lips softly. The brief kiss is chaste; they're both beyond tired. It won't be much more than this. "Come on you," she takes his hand. "Let's get you home."

  
"Thanks," He nods again, agreeing with her, he's in no shape for a conversation about them right now. 

* * *

  
She drives them back to his little house. The place is dark, and Daisy appears to be asleep in bed. Ellie takes his hand, and he turns to look at her. "Get some sleep okay?" she asks kindly.

  
"Yeah," he forces a smile. "You too,"

  
Awkwardness hangs in the air. Alec leans over and kisses her cheek again. "See you in the morning." Ellie smiles at him.

  
"You too, Miller." Alec releases her hand and gets out of the car. He shuts the car door and wills himself to walk away. He's exhausted, he needs to sleep.

  
Once he's inside, he waves from the door, and her car pulls away. He reaches up, loosening his tie and pulling it off. He makes it to his room, stopping at the edge of the bed to toe-off his oxfords. He does nothing more, he crawls into the bed and is asleep as soon as his head presses down into the pillow.

* * *

"Dad?" Daisy is poking him in the shoulder. "Dad."

  
He groans and looks up, sunlight streaming through his window, "What is it Daze?" he blinks the sleep out of his eyes and shakes his head slightly to clear the fog. Leaning upon his elbow, he looks up at her.

  
"I'm going to school, and you're usually at work by now." She looks concerned. "Is everything okay?"

  
"Got called into work last night," He yawns, "Was there until nearly three this morning." he stretches, can't help it.

  
"Oh," she smiles "I hope your Date was okay."

  
"Was fine even though it got cut short." he ushers her off. "Oh and they found Thomas Kaine, he's alright."

  
"I knew you'd find him." She leans down, kissing his cheek before bouncing off. "See you later, Dad!" She wastes no time in getting out the door for school.

  
When the lock on the front door clicks shut, Alec lays back down. He doesn't remember falling back asleep, but the banging on the door is what is waking him now. He looks at the clock, noon. "Shit."

  
He stands up and rights himself as he goes down the hallway and into the living room. Ellie is standing at the doorway with a smile. Two drinks in her hands, a bag hanging from her wrist; she's brought breakfast or lunch.

  
He comes forward and unlocks the door. "Miller." He greets.

  
"Hardy, is that your suit from last night?" She frowns at him.

  
"Yeah," He motions her inside and wipes both hands down his exhausted face. "Give me a moment to change, and we'll head in."

  
"I brought you tea and a breakfast wrap." She sets a white bag with the local coffee shop's logo on it. 'All Loxed Up.' is the new coffee shop that has an assortment of unique bagels and pastries.

  
Alec looks at the bag, skeptical. "The lady at the cafe said you order it sometimes, so I told her that would do."

  
Alec can feel the edge of his mouth turn up slightly, "Thank you, Ellie."

  
"You're welcome, Alec," she waves a hand. "Go get cleaned up I'll wait here."

  
Alec nods and stuffs his hands in his pockets and shuffles back to his room to get a shower and change. Alec did sleep, he's lost time overnight, but Alec doesn't feel like he's slept at all, he feels just as tired as when he came home last night.

* * *

A shower does refresh him somewhat. When he towels his hair dry and looks in the mirror, he sighs. He touches his face and makes a judgment call, the first of many that will happen today. When he exits out of the back of the house, fully dressed and pulling his jacket over his shoulders, he feels much better. He feels confident he can get through the day and ignore his exhaustion. He is taken aback, feet freezing, by the whistle from the woman sitting on his couch.

  
Ellie's got a smile a mile wide. "You shaved?"

  
Alec looks both ways as if trying to find a safe harbor. "Can't a man do what he wishes?" He hedges and turns into the kitchen briefly.

  
"I don't think I've ever seen you look like that, though." She sounds pleased.

  
He grabs his keys from the table in the kitchen, where Daisy always puts them after he tosses them on the coffee table. He pockets them and turns to a cabinet and pulls it open to pull out a multivitamin, another insistence of Daisy and takes them down before replacing the bottle in the cupboard.

  
When he comes into the living room, he can't help the smile that plays on his lips, but he forces his mouth into a thin line. "Let's go Miller." He grabs the bag on the table and hesitates over the glasses.   
"One on your left." He nods, grabbing the cup up.

  
They leave, Alec locks the door, and they get into the car. "How are the boys?"

  
"Good Fred's now obsessed with Lemurs now apparently, has been asking for a toy, and we spent an hour this morning online consulting google." She pulls the car out as he starts to unwrap his food. "Tom's got a football game tomorrow night. I am kind of excited to see him play."

  
"What time?" Alec asks after he swallows down his first bite.

  
She glances at him. "You like football?"

  
"I mean, if it's Tom, Daze and I could come." He offers. "be-" he toys around with what to say next. "Supportive of Tom, the school."

  
"I think we'd like that." Ellie agrees. "Eat your food. I do not need you falling over today."

  
He takes a bite of the wrap and chews quietly looking out the window going over the case file he memorized in his mind. He pauses to turn to pick up his tea out of the cup holder and takes a sip before setting it back down and taking another bite.

  
"We need to get in Jameson's phone," Ellie says, finally breaking the silence. He can only nod, mouth full, and agree with her. "We can't do much with the boy's phone because it's shattered." She sighs, but she smacks the steering wheel like it's just come to her. "We can subpoena the phone records for Jameson because his death is suspicious."

  
Alec nods wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Submitted that last night." he agrees. "if we can get into the records and place them in contact with one another, that helps both cases."

* * *

  
  
The phone records are waiting for them when they walk in the door. Katie is smiling ear to ear and Ellie beams at her. "Good work."

  
"Thank you, ma'am." She turns back to her seat.

  
Ellie makes a beeline for his office, and Alec follows her in shutting the door. They sit on the sofa together, flipping through the phone record. "Average of forty-two text messages between him and the boy a day."

  
Alec looks up, "KATIE!"

She appears in the doorway, "Sir?"

  
"Take bob. We need the boy back here immediately for questioning." Alec flips the folder shut. "I want his parents here too, so please, by all means, invite them too!"   
Katie nods, "Yes, sir!"

  
Alec stands up and grabs another file on his desk. "Sir?" Ellie asks.

  
He turns to face her, "What are you thinking?"

  
"This is a long shot, but do you think Jameson could be Kaine's father?" Alec suddenly pales.

  
"Mr. Kaine is his stepfather." Alec pauses and leans back on his desk.

  
"Father and mother are younger than we are sir, looks like mom had Thomas in ...college." She looks up.

  
"Didn't dear old stepdad get into a fight in Uni?"

  
"You think it was with Jameson?" Ellie thought about it. "I can get the report pulled."

  
"Do it," Alec said softly. "It's something, let's try to make the pieces fit." He grabs a few files and smiles at her.

  
"Without just cramming them in there as Fred does." Ellie smiles at him. "I'll grab fresh tapes!"

  
She stops before leaving out the door, leaning against its frame she speaks, "What can I bring you?"

  
"Tea?" He asks softly. "Please."

  
There's fondness in her eyes, and she gives him a bigger grin. "Be back in a jiff."

* * *

  
The tea Ellie brings him helps calm his nerves; he thinks as he plots out the questions he's going to have to ask, things to put together. He's been at these files for just about an hour now. He pulls a file out of his desk drawer, dropping it on top as Katie peeks in. "They're here, all three, and their Council."

  
"Lawyered up quick," Ellie says, coming in behind Katie. "Got that report. It looks like Mr. Kaine and Mr. Jameson had a bar fight a few years ago in Uni." She offers the folder to Alec, who grabs it up. "roughed each other up, broken ribs on both sides."

  
"Over a girl." Alec nods. "Of course," He looks at Ellie. "What do you think?"

  
"I think she was with both men round the same time, and one is the father, one isn't." She shrugs. "That's what's coming to mind."

  
"Makes a bit of sense, Mom wants to be with Kaine, tells Jameson to take a hike."

  
"But Jameson is the boy's father," Ellie says kindly.

  
"And he was found dead in a ditch." Alec says, "Drown and miles from water."

  
Katie, who has been listening nods and offers up a folder. "Certainly enough motive."

  
"Let's go see how good Mr. Kaine's alibi is." Alec stands up. "Katie split them all up, Thomas in one room, mom and dad each on their own. We're gonna go at this methodically." He smiles.

  
Ellie beams at him now. "I love it when you act like a right bastard."

  
"Love it?"

  
Ellie turns a pale shade right in front of him and Katie. Alec clears his throat. "Chop chop!" He barks. "We have people to question!" The girls scurry out of the room. He sits back in his seat briefly and flattens his tie on his chest. He takes a breath, picks up his mug, downs the rest of the tea, and stands. He wants to finish this. 

* * *

To Be Continued 


	6. Chapter 6

The police report is back, and Alec turns it over in his hand outside the interrogation room door. "So they get into a row at a pub, and they both got arrested. Mrs. Kaine bails out both men?" He has to reread it. "She bailed them both out." he pulls the bail slips out and sets them side by side.

  
"Why would she do that?" Ellie asks softly. "That makes absolutely no sense at all, but those are the same signature."

  
"Let's ask her." Alec smiles, putting the slips back and closing the file. Ellie opens the door, letting him walk in first. "Hello there, Mrs. Kaine. I am D.I. Hardy, this is D.S. Miller." They sit across from her and her lawyer. "We just have a few questions." Alec turns on the tape. "This is Alec Hardy, Sunday, September the 8th, four-thirty P.M. interview of Mrs. Karen Kaine."

  
"Mrs. Kaine, do you remember a bar fight that included your husband sixteen years ago?"

  
"What does that have to do with my son?" She is outraged. She's been in this room for nearly an hour waiting.

  
"An awful lot." He pulls out a form. "Back to what I was saying, two men, one being a man who would become your husband, and one being a man named Joseph James Jameson, get into a row at a pub." He turns the paperwork to her. "The Hitchpost's owner had been there that night, remembers the fight, he is the one who called it into police."

  
"For the tape, D.I. Hardy is showing Mrs. Kaine a police report and two bail statements." Ellie speaks briefly, but then alec continues.

  
"You not only were witness to it, based on this statement, but you also bailed both men out. First, Mr. Jameson, and then afterward, an hour later, your husband," Alec leans back in his chair and shrugs. "Want to tell me why?"

  
She doesn't move, "What does this have to do with my son?"

  
Ellie looked at the woman. "We know you're upset, but we can get to why it's all connected if you answer our questions."

  
"No." She said and folded her arms over her chest.

  
Alec nods, "Alright, you want it straight from the horse's mouth? Joseph Jameson is dead."

The woman in front of him deflates, her arms dropping to her sides. "What?" She looks in pure shock. "What do you mean dead?" She doesn't seem to understand what he's said to her.

  
"Mrs. Kaine, Joseph Jameson, was found dead. He's been texting your son, who until late last night had been missing. I've got to know some information, please."

  
It takes her a few moments; she finally nods and taps the formal report with two fingers. "I was pregnant when the bar fight happened." she reaches up to her eyes, wiping at them. "I didn't know which of them was the father."

  
"Didn't," Ellie says, "But you do now, don't you?"

  
"And who was the father?" Alec asks.

  
"Ryan insisted it was his." Karen sniffles and looks toward the winds.

  
"Ryan Kaine, is your husband?" Alec asks to clarify for the tape's sake.

  
"Yes."

  
"But you didn't know for sure," Ellie adds softly. "You didn't know who the father was."

  
"Not at that time, no. Ryan told his parents, and we were very much encouraged to the alter." She looks up. "A few years later, I got a letter that Joe wanted a paternity test done, and I did it." She sighs deeply. "I didn't tell Ryan." She murmurs.

  
"And Jameson was the father?" Alec asks. The woman nods gently up and down. "For the tape, Mrs. Kaine, please answer out loud?"

  
"Joe was the father, yes."

  
Alec grabs the tissue box nearest the recorder and slides it to her. "Thank you, Mrs. Kaine, we are ending the interview at four-fifty-two pm." He turns off the tape.

  
"I'll have some tea brought in," Ellie tells her council, who nods.

* * *

Back in Alec's office, he nods. "So Jameson is the boy's father, was he trying to connect with the boy?" Alec shrugs at her.

  
"It's quite possible." She says, "Maybe they were keeping it secret."

  
"Possibly."

  
"Do you think Mr. Kaine might have found out?"

  
"Million dollar question, Miller," Alec folds his arms over his chest and leans on his desk. "What kind of work does Mr. Kaine do?"

  
Ellie flipped open the file and scrolled down. "He's been in and out of jobs for a long time, but currently he's working as-" she thumbs through some more pages. "A dockhand at the pier."

  
Alec purses his lips and nods. "Drown the man, take him in your truck to dump the body." He shrugs. "Seems pretty straight forward."

  
"Can't be that easy," Ellie says, sitting down on the sofa. "Can it?" She checks her watch. "We also have to prove that." she sighs and pulls out her phone. She appears to be sending a text.

  
That's right. Tom has a match tonight. "What time is the game?"

  
"It's at seven." She smiles, "Firstly, what are we doing here, are we going to leave them all there?"

  
"I am gonna let Mrs. Kaine and the boy go home." Alec says, "We're gonna hold Mr. Kaine for forty-eight hours and let him think about talking to us."

  
Ellie nods, "Might loosen his lips if he's left to stew."

  
"Might just make him angrier," Alec says.

  
"Isn't that what you do to Most people?" Ellie laughs, and he can't help his smile. "Katie!" She calls and turns out the door. "We're letting the boy and his mother go, keeping the father, gonna let him stew a bit."

  
"Yes, ma'am, I'm on it." She peers in "Cell stew, or keep him in the room, stew?"

  
"Put him in the interrogation room with a cot," Alec smirks. "He's not going to see us until tomorrow, but don't tell him that. He wants to be put in there, fine. That's on him."

  
"On it." Katie pops off to do as instructed.

  
Alec grabs his coat. "Miller!"

  
Ellie rushes back in, "Yes?"

  
"Get your coat, take me home to change and pick up Daisy, and then we'll get Tom and Fred." He pulls his jacket around his shoulders.

  
Ellie nods, "Let me make sure Katie has all the info, and get my things from my desk, five minutes."

  
Alec nods. "Five minutes." He sees her smile, and how her face lights up when she does so, her hair is getting longer, and it pools at her shoulders along her neck. She turns away from him, and he peeks are her face just as she goes, and she's red.

  
Alec turns to his desk to put a few things away; He places some files back in his outbox and puts a few others in his keep pile. He grabs up his pens, putting them in the old coffee cup he's using to hold his pens and post-it notes.

  
Tiding up tends to help him calm down. "Ready when you are."

  
Alec grabs his jacket, following her to the lift.

* * *

The temperature is going down with the sun, it's still 15 degrees celsius outside, but Ellie puts Fred in a jacket. "Sure, he needs that?" Alec asks. "Beautiful out."

  
"Just in case it gets any colder."

  
"Can I go play?" Ellie looks over where the other kids are playing on the school's equipment on the other side of the field.

  
"Yes, love, but don't get too high on the climbing frame. I'm not coming up to get you."

  
Alec smirks. "Climb as high as you want lad, and I'll come to get you."

  
Fred's fist pumps the air. "YES!"

  
"I'll take him." Daisy offers Fred her hand, and the two of them walk around the field. "Come on, big man."

  
"She's a good girl, your Daisy is." Ellie can't help but smile.

  
Alec smiles as they Daisy and Fred race for the swings. "Trust me, I know it." He says kindly. Alec turns his attention to the game. Tom comes around the corner, skirting a defensive player and his working his way up the field with the ball. Another boy comes up on his left, shoving into him, getting away with the ball. "OH, COME ON!" The ref sees nothing, and the play continues. "That should have been a call."

  
"Keep going, Tom!" Ellie yells, and Tom seems to look toward his mother and nod before getting up and rushing after.

  
Alec shakes his head, "Refs are blind."

  
Ellie giggles. "They're kids, and it's a game."

  
"Doesn't matter." Alec smiles and turns to her. She scoots in closer to him and pushes her hands into the pockets of her coat. He does the same. On the side, that's between them, Alec's hand sneaks into her coat pocket, and he takes her hand. "Hope you don't mind."

  
She smiles, "Not at all." They watch the game until the conclusion, Tom's team loses by two goals.

  
"Ya did good!" Ellie beams at him. "That was some fancy footwork! You've been practicing."

  
"We lost," Tom says, walking next to Alec, Fred between them holding both their hands.

  
"Ah, refs were bloody idiots." Alec says, "That boy shoved you outta the way." he shakes his head, "Should have been a call."

  
Ellie smiles at him as she opens the rear car door. Daisy climbs in, and Alec lets go of Fred so he can squeeze between Daisy and Tom. "Gear in the back love, and when we get home, you're getting a shower."

  
Tom nods, "Yes, ma'am."

  
Alec and Ellie stand by the hood of the car for a moment. "I'll run you both home," Alec nods and takes her hand, his thumb running over the backside of it.

  
"This feels so slow," Alec says softly.

  
"It does," Ellie says softly. "But, that's okay."

  
"Should have kissed you right proper last night-"

  
"You were exhausted, we both were, this is taking a lot out of us, well not just us, everyone working on the case, the whole bloody bullpen is stressed out." She says.

  
"How about this-" Alec swallows and nods. "I will take Daisy home, get her to bed, would you join me for a nightcap?"

  
"Your place or mine?"

  
Alec smiles, "Probably yours, just in case wee Fred needs you."

  
Ellie steps back from him. "Smart one, you are."

  
"I am your boss." He smirks.

  
"Don't remind me how you stole my job," she rolls her eyes, and they get in the car.

  
"Are we complaining about it now?"

  
"No," Ellie smiles "We most certainly are not."

* * *

Alec ends up at her house later in the evening, still dressed down pretty casual, in a dark shirt and jeans. Ellie opens the door with a smile. "Boys have gone to bed."

  
"Fred's asleep?"

  
"Well, he's laying in there." She motions up. "I gave in, and he's watching a video on my laptop," She says with a sigh rolling her eyes with a smile. "He loves those animal videos."

  
"Lemurs again?"

  
"Lemurs, yes." She smiles, "I am glad he wants to know things; he wants to learn." She motions Alec to come inside. "That it excites him, he needs something to excite him."

  
Alec follows her inside and closes the door quietly behind himself. "I hadn't thought about it. I don't have much to offer you." She says, walks into the living room and turns the TV off, picking up a few things to set them on the floor. "Sorry about the mess."

  
Alec smirks, "It's fine." He sits down on the couch. "So, our date got disrupted by the boy being found alive."

  
"Alive is the important term there." she sits beside him. "What are we doing? Us, I mean."

  
"I don't rightly know." he murmurs. "I want this." He isn't sure what to call it. "Whatever it is we're doing, I want to keep doing it."

  
"I want this too." He looks up at her after she says it.

  
"I think I have wanted this since I came back," Alec leans down on considering the next words out of his mouth. "I don't-" He sighs. "I don't want to scare you off. Or make this strange."

  
"It's already strange." Ellie laughs softly. "So very strange."

  
It doesn't take but the briefest of moments, their hands connect. Alec pulls her closer to him, they are kissing, deeply, passionately, and achingly sober. They break apart briefly, Alec licking his lip. "Red wine."

  
"That's pretty good detective work." She smirks at him, "I might have jumped the gun a bit." She murmurs, "Nerves." They don't say anything for a long time. "Would you like a glass of wine?"

  
"Yes," he says against his better judgment, he should not, but he's going to. He wants to. He wants to say yes to anything Ellie asks of him. "please."

  
She stands and goes to the kitchen. "Right-" she stammers, "Right back."

  
He nods, he reaches up and runs his fingers through his hair. Alec stands to look at the pictures of the boys on the wall. Family vacation photos and school pictures. Joe is missing from all the images; she's done her best to scrub him from her life. That's a good thing. He decides that she's already moved past him, and that makes this easier on him. It makes their relationship feels less like an invasion.

  
There is one picture there, a photo of Ellie at a police function. She's dressed in a green dress, and she looks happy as can be. Her hair is long like it is now, and he reaches out, picking the frame off the wall. "God, I remember that night; Christmas Party." She walks in, offering him a glass of wine.

  
"You looked amazing." He takes the glass with a smile. "That's a fantastic dress, by the way."

  
"Thank you. Bob was so bloody drunk," Ellie smirks. "Got one of the rookies to drive him home." She giggles.

  
Alec turns the picture toward her. "When was this?" He asks.

  
"Oh, six years ago, I'm pregnant with Fred there," she says and takes a drink of her wine.

  
"Oh, no," Alec says in disbelief.

  
"Mmmhmm." She purses her lips and swallows her drink down. "Just about the only sober person there."

  
"Christmas parties, ugh." Alec doesn't like them. His tone should convey that.

  
"Wasn't so bad. I got lots of compromising pictures that night of most of our current bullpen." she giggles. "It was fun. I remember having fun, even if I wasn't drinking."

  
"Been a long time since I had any fun." He shrugs. "I'm not fun, am I?" He smiles at her.

  
"Not at all. Shitface." They both laugh together.

  
"Just now starting to feel like me again," Alec admits.

  
"It takes time to get back into feeling like yourself after you've lost someone. Tess is still on your mind. Joe's always on mine." she murmurs. Ellie changes the subject before he can respond to either of those things. "I didn't go to the Christmas party last year." she shrugs.

  
"Cause of the whole situation with Joe?" Alec asks, hanging the picture back up.

  
"No, because of you," she shrugs "You weren't there."

  
Part of his chest feels weighty at that. He is the reason she didn't have fun. Alec can only nod, "I am sorry I was gone." He fumbles with his wine glass. "I didn't mean to make you miss the Christmas party."

  
"Well, I'm glad you're back; if it's any consolation, the guy they hired when you left was a complete arsehole." He reaches out and pushes a lock of hair behind her ear. "How do you do that?" Her voice is slightly hollow.

  
"Do what?" He looks into her eyes and takes a sip of wine.

  
"Look at me like you're looking into my soul?" She murmurs.

  
He swallows, "Maybe I am?" He shakes his head, and she also joins him in the head, shaking. "Yea, no, not my forte, I don't think." They laugh together, and it feels good.

  
She sets her wine down. "Kiss me."

  
Alec sets his wine down on the coffee table beside hers. Taking her face in his hands, he kisses her. Her mouth opens for him, and Alec presses harder into the kiss. His hands slide down her neck to her shoulders, mooring her in place, anchoring them where they stand. They come up a moment later for a few breathy gasps of air. Their foreheads meet, and he nods. "I want you." He flinches the moment it's out of his mouth.

  
"I want you too," Ellie says softly. "Honesty, huh?"

  
He nods, "Honesty." He agrees. "We have to be completely honest about what we want."

  
"What do we do about what we want?" She looks up at him, trembling in his hands.

  
"You're scared," Alec observes, and he lets his hands drop from her.

  
"I am, of the unknown, it's been a while." Ellie admits, "For both of us. I'm just nervous."

  
He smiles. "It can wait," he assures, as he tries to will his body to believe it. He picks up his wine glass again, taking a drink to occupy his hands.

  
"Yea?" Ellie smiles at him.

  
"We could watch telly." He motions to the tv. He offers to point with his wine glass.

  
"Okay." she smiles, "That's a- good idea." She leans down, grabbing her wine, and sits back on the couch. Alec joins her. "I usually watch crime dramas."

  
"To see how fast you can solve it?" Alec laughs. "me too. But usually, I yell at them like they can hear me that they are doing it all wrong."

  
"Like my dad does with the football games." she giggles, "I tell him the refs can't hear him."

  
"I like your dad already," Alec smirks.

  
"Good." She smiles and gets the remote and turns on the television. She motions to Alec to reach over his head. "light."

  
He twists, seeing the light switch. He flips off the light and settles back, Ellie settling against his side. He smiles into her hair and wraps an arm around her.

* * *

  
  
He has to start remembering when he falls asleep. Something bounces on the couch beside him, and Alec snaps to attention. "Hi!" Fred is waving at him.

  
"Wee, Fred." He yawns deeply. He looks down, Ellie is asleep on his lap. He puts his finger to his mouth. "Shhh."

  
Fred giggles at him, putting his finger over his mouth "Shhh," he repeats.

  
"Go into the kitchen. I'll come to help ya with breakfast." He shifts a hand under Ellie's head and lifts, putting a pillow under her as he turns to stand up.  
Fred is in the kitchen, moving a stool to the counter to stand on. "It's up there!"

  
Alec steps up and opens the cabinet. "Cereal, huh?"

  
Fred nods. "The best kind, there's a toy inside!" He points up. "Look!" The boy is jumping up and down on his stool. 

Alec pulls down the box, "3D glasses? I use to love those." 

* * *

That's where Ellie finds them when she wakes up when she comes into the kitchen. Alec and Fred are both eating brightly colored cereal and looking up Lemurs on Alec's cell phone. "Mommy!" Fred turns to face her. Alec looks up and smiles Fred noticing her first.

  
"I got glasses in my cereal!" The paper 3D glasses popped out from the backside of the box.

  
"They look lovely!" Ellie smiles at him. "Right proper 3D detective, you are."

  
"Morning," Alec says, reaching out to take her hand, briefly squeezing it before going back to his coffee. "Was gonna wake you up in a few minutes."

  
"I see breakfast has started without me." She turns to the coffee pot. "Oh, and he makes coffee too!" She comes to the table and leans down, kissing Alec's temple. "I like that."

  
Fred looks at the phone, "Mommy, look, it has a baby."

  
Ellie leans down. "It does, look how small it is."

  
"Should take him to the Zoo," Alec suggests. "Might enjoy that, Daisy always loved it."

  
Fred beams. "ZOO!"

  
Ellie giggles. "I'll think about it." she murmurs. "But, you have to go to care, and Tom has to go to school this week." She sits down and rubs her neck. "Sleeping on the sofa," She brings it up. 

"Let's not do it again," Alec suggests.

  
"Agreed." She smiles at him. 

Tom walks in and does a double-take a moment. "Thought he went home?"

"He did, came back last night we might have fallen asleep on the couch watching Tv." Ellie is completely honest with him. Alec understands, the boy has had enough deception in his life to last a lifetime. 

"This gonna be a thing?" Tom asks, looking between them.

"Define 'thing,' lad," Alec asks. 

"Dunno, love stuff?" For being fourteen, that's pretty eloquent coming from a boy. 

Ellie looks at Alec for a save. He shakes his head and takes another bite of cereal, leaving her, out to sea. "Well," She smiles, "Tom, this is a romantic interest." She says, "But we're taking it slow." 

"Whatever, it's cool." Tom leans down, hugging Fred, but it's more to reach his bag on the chair on the other side of his brother. He stands and kisses his mother. "Gotta go." 

"Be careful." She says. "Do you have your phone?" 

"Yes!" Tom rushes out the door.

"Gave him his phone back?" Alec asks. That's a shock. She'd destroyed his cell phone nearly six months ago.

"No, it's one of those OLD flip phones with no internet." She says, sitting down. "he has to have a phone." She is very adamant about it. 

Alec nods, "Best if he does, I agree." 

"If, you know who comes around." She shakes her head. "Gods, listen to me, I sound like we're talking about Harry Potter." 

Alec smiles at her. "I think it's good. He's got a phone. It's as much for his safety as it is-" 

"My sanity?" Ellie frowns into her coffee. 

Alec's hand finds hers on the table, and she looks over at him, she has a lot on her mind he can tell. "You're doing just fine." he knows she needs to hear it. She smiles at him and opens her mouth like she's about to speak.

"Mommy?" Fred interrupts them.

Ellie pulls her hand away and wipes at her eyes. "Yes, love?" she composes herself quickly. 

"Can we have a pet Lemur?" 

Alec can only take another bite of cereal to watch this play out. He takes his coffee and takes a drink waiting for the inevitable tears because he already knows, no, Fred cannot have a Lemur in Broadchurch. 

Ellie shakes her head "That's a no, we don't have the proper permit." Alec smiles, there is no permit available, he knows, but it's the right call for telling a child no. 

"How do you get one?" He looks at Alec. 

"Well, Fred, you'd have to be trained to handle one, and you'd have to have a group that works to either educate about them or work in rehabilitation." He smiles, "But there aren't many lemurs here in the UK." 

Fred's chest falls. "That said," Alec continues. "I think if you went to school and learned all you could, you one day could work with Lemurs at a zoo." 

That makes Fred giddy with happiness. He picks up his spoon and starts to eat quickly. "What's the rush, love?" Ellie stands going to grab something off the counter. 

"I gotta get to school-" He says through chewing. "Gotta be a Lemur Man." 

Ellie puts a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing but looks at Alec. He stands and takes his cereal bowl to the sink and leans down, kissing Ellie's cheek. "You have good boys." 

"I do." She lays a hand on his arm, and they kiss. "How long are we gonna let Mr. Kaine stew?" 

Alec looks up at the clock. "I need to run home and get ready."

"I'll get ready and drive you over," Ellie says. "Stay with Fred for me?" 

"Of course." Alec nods. "Go on, no rush, Kaine's not going anywhere." Ellie touches his face. 

"Don't shave."

Alec rolls his eyes. "Go get dressed, Miller." He barks softly into her ear.

Fred turns over Alec's phone. "Look a panda! It's a girl. They put a pink bow on her." 

Alec steps away from her to sit back beside Fred. "Aye, she is beautiful." 

"Like my mom." 

"Yes," Alec agrees. "Like your mom." 

Alec meets her eyes. Ellie turns a furious shade of red, mouths the word 'wanker' at him, and walks out of the room. Now Alec is the one trying to keep the tinge of red off his face. 

* * *

To be continued... 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "You have to punch hard for knockouts, and to beat me, you have to knock me out."-
> 
> Khabib Nurmagomedov

  
There are four reports back when they walk in. Alec sorts through them. "Tox screen, Tire treads, phone logs, and not enough hours in a day." He complains

  
"I'll take all that, and get started I'm faster than most in the bullpen."

  
"Need you in the interrogation," Alec says seriously.

  
"Take Katie." She says softly. "We need this info sooner than later. If I delegate and stay on them, I'll get results before the end of the day when we have to release him. She needs experience in the room anyway,"

  
Alec sighs, "Fine." He grabs up his files and motions for Katie to join him. "You're going with me to do the interrogation. Miller thinks you need the experience." He pauses, "You've spoken to him, and he's been stewing for more than a night, he's gonna be angry. Rightly so." He smirks. "Just let me do the talking, just be a witness to this, you can talk for the tape if you like."

  
"Yes, sir." She nods her head in agreement.

* * *

They go into the room and sit down. "It's about goddamn time." Ryan Kaine says, seated on the other side of the table. "Is this some joke to you? Leave a man in here all night?"

  
"I assure you, sir, it is not a joke." Alec presses the button on the recorder. "This is Alec Hardy, Monday, September the 9th, Ten Thirty-four A.M. interview of Mr. Ryan Kaine."

  
"My name is D.I. Alec Hardy, this is D.C. Katie Hartford."

  
"What the fuck is this about?" Kaine asks seriously. "Look, my boy came home. He fucking ran off kids do that." He frowns, "He's an idiot and grounded for life, but the police don't need to be involved in any of this shit. It's our family's business."

  
"Oh, I think we do," Alec smirks.

"Leave me, my wife, and our boy out of whatever you think this is."

  
"But he isn't your boy, is he?" He turns around a file, a copy of the test Jameson had asked for that Karen had done. "He is Joseph Jameson's boy." He taps the paternity test twice.

  
"For the tape D.I. Hardy is showing Mr. Kaine a paternity test." Katie says, then goes quiet.

  
"Thomas belongs to Jospeph Jameson, not you," Alec says matter of factly. "That boy isn't your son." Alec turns the page back. "Is that why you were fighting in the pub sixteen years ago? You knew, and couldn't look at the man who'd knocked up the woman you love?"

  
The man moves faster than Alec can register, and he doesn't remember anything after that, just something impacting his face, pain, and blackness.

* * *

  
  
He flinches as his eyes open, "Ugh," he groans.

  
"Easy." Ellie frowns at him. "he knocked you out cold."

  
"Felt like a train hit me." He touches his chest and is confident he is in one piece. Alec is in his office, splayed out on the couch. "Bastard hit me good." He reaches up to his aching forehead. Ellie swats his hand away.

  
"You're okay, the medic looked you over, you've been kinda in an out, concussion they think." there's a gasping sound, multiple people, from outside his office.

  
"What's wrong?" He tries to sit up. Ellie's hands press on his chest with firm pressure, and she pushes him back down.

  
"They're watching the tape of you getting clocked." She says and dabs at his forehead. That stings, and he flinches back. "he had a ring on, and it cut into your brow." She frowns. "I still think it needs a stitch or two." She leans over, inspecting the wound.

  
"S'fine." she rolls her eyes at him. "If it's bad after work-" he fumbles, "I'll let you take me to get it patched up."

  
"Told the medic. You wouldn't want to go to the hospital." she sounds disappointed like she'd prefer him to have gone.

  
"No, I don't." he agrees. "Where's Kaine?" That's a good question, he thinks blearily.

  
"Holding cell," she helps him sit up. "Being charged with assaulting an officer." She smiles. "We can hold him for a bit."

  
He suddenly remembers he was not alone in that room. "Is Hartford, okay?"

  
"Katie is fine. He didn't lay a hand on her, just went after you." Ellie frowns. "I should have been in there." She says with a deep sigh.

  
"Wouldn't have changed it." Alec groans and touches his head. "Woulda been me getting a shiner either way." he reaches up and flinches again with a deep sigh of his own. "I want to sit up, please." He turns his legs over the edge of the sofa, and she doesn't seem to protest.

  
Ellie sits beside him, a hand on his shoulder as she waits to see if he's okay, "Let me get you some ice for that eye."

  
Ellie leaves him there, headed for their small break room.

  
Alec pushes up to stand. He is unsteady a moment, and his head is protesting the change of position. The bullpen gasps again, and his curiosity is getting the better of him. He walks out into the bullpen. Everyone there stops and looks at him. They are frozen as if they don't know whether they should get back to work. "Show me."

  
Katie walks up and motions him to the monitor; it's playing on a loop. The man stands upright abruptly and clocks Hardy across the face. Alec watches his body sprawl out of his chair like a rag doll. Katie rushes the door calling for officers and goes back to him.

  
"Sir?" Katie asks him. He is staring, watching himself go down repeatedly.

  
Alec turns to her and puts a hand on her shoulder. "You're okay?"

  
"Yes, sir."

  
"Good."

  
"Was a good hit." he agrees, and the bullpen gets a little cheerful. Ellie shows up from the breakroom with a bag of ice and a smile. "Now," Alec turns, addressing them all. "We get to keep him because he made a stupid move." he presses his fingers into his temple. "I will be paying for that for a few days myself."  
Ellie comes up to his side, handing him an ice pack. "Let's not be stupid ourselves." He motions to them. "Come to Miller for anything you need, for the day she's gonna run the show." He can hardly think straight. "I will remain on-site. We have a lot to do! Let's get to it!" He shuffles back to his office to the couch and sits down, putting the ice pack over his eye.

  
Ellie walks in and closes the door behind her. "let me see."

  
He lifts the ice pack, and she winces. "That bad?"

  
"Oh, you're gonna have a shiner all right." she sucks in a breath. "Bloody looking eye too."

  
"So much for my dashing good looks." Alec teases, and she sits beside him.

  
"I am gonna have dad in to watch the boys tonight, I will work late and handle all of this, I can get bob to run you home." She reaches out, pushing the stringy hairs on his forehead back away from his face.

  
"No, I'm staying on-site Miller." he insists. "I'll just rest on the sofa here." He takes her hand in his and squeezes it. "Might just think of something."

  
She purses her lips into a thin line that he's not liking, "If that is what you insist on doing, then fine, but lay down." She stands up, "I'm gonna check on you repeatedly throughout the day. If I think you're health is compromised, you're going to hospital."

  
"Yes, Ma'am." he leans back and closes his eyes. He feels her kiss press into his forehead, and he looks up at her. Her back is to the door, and no one will have seen.

  
"Bloody wanker." She chastises and kisses his lips briefly. "Gave me a scare." Her hand traces down his face, she's worried, she's not making a show to hide it from her face. "Rest." She stands to grab the files off his desk, marching out of the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

  
  
  
"Turn, please." The photographer, Marcus, takes a photo of his face. Alec turns to the left and waits as Crime Scene documents his face. "The other side, sir." Alec turns again. His eyes flinch as the flashbulb goes off. "That should do it, thank you, sir. I'll let you know when we finish with the photos.

  
"Thanks, Marcus." Marcus turns his camera off as he grabs his bag. As he is exiting out, Alec's daughter comes into the office, skirting the photographer as she skips inside.

  
"Daisy?" He asks.

She stops and puts her hand on her mouth. "Dad? What happened?"

  
"Got in a disagreement with a person I was interviewing." He sighs, standing up off the couch. "What are you doing here?"

  
"It's like almost seven, Ellie picked Tom and me up from school and brought us here." She frowned. "Said you got in an accident." she winces at his appearance.

  
"Fred?" Alec asks softly.

  
"He's with his granddad." She sits down on the couch. "That looks bad." Her face contorts.

  
"Looks worse than it feels," He promises, leaning back on his desk. "Where's Ellie?"

  
"Finishing up some stuff." Daisy smiles. "Said she's gonna get you home and in bed, and then if something happens, I'm to call her."

  
Alec nods. "Okay." He sighs a hand carding deeply through his hair. "I think I'm okay, Daze."

  
Ellie walks in slowly at first. "Are we all doing alright in here? Did Marcus get the photos of your face?"

  
"Yes, and he just left." Alec stands up off the edge of the desk, fixing his tie. He does feel quite a bit better; he's slept away half the day.

  
"Thanks, Ellie, for looking after my dad." Daisy stands up off the couch, going over to Ellie.

  
Ellie smiles at her and gives her a brief hug. "Happy to do it, love."

  
Alec doesn't say anything about the interaction; he grabs up his coat and pulls it on. He is leaving the front buttons unbuttoned. "Everyone else gone?"

  
"Mostly, do need your signature on the report." she sets it out on his desk. "We'll put the photos with it when Marcus gets them developed."

  
Alec sighs and goes over the report reading Katie's witness statement and signs off on it. He looks at Ellie. "I'll give a statement tomorrow." he shakes his head. "Too tired to do it right now."

  
"Thought as much, come on, let's go." She grabs her purse and jacket and motions Daisy out the office door. "Go grab Tom, tell him we're gonna go home."

  
Alec tosses the pen to the desktop and goes with her. "Ellie?"

  
"Yes?" she turns to him, her eyes bright and open, a smile on her face.

  
"Thank you, for-." he smiles weakly at her, he gestures around himself. He doesn't finish his sentence. "Take me home?"

  
She reaches a hand behind his back, and they exit out of the office, shutting off the lights as they go.

* * *

He feels immeasurably better the next morning, tying his tie looking in the mirror. He reaches up, touching the bruised flesh. "I'm off to school!" Daisy calls to him.

  
"Have a good day!" He calls back, hears the door close behind her. He fusses with his hair. There's a large black welt on his temple and around his eye. The skin is yellowish around the edge of the wound, and his eye is half bloodshot.

  
He checks the cut over his eye, but it does appear to be healing. He slathers on some antibiotic ointment and leaves it alone.

  
Moving out of his bathroom, he slaps the light off. He makes the bed up and grabs his phone and glasses before heading to the kitchen.

  
As Alec enters the living room, he can see Ellie coming up the walk, he jogs over to the door and opens it up. Her face turns into a frown. "Oh, Alec, that looks-" she doesn't finish her comment about his black-eye.

  
"I know." He smiles, letting her inside. "I look terrible."

  
"I want to kill him, for smudging up such a handsome face." She smiles at him. Her hand comes up to thumb at his chin.

  
"Was a good hit," Alec reaffirms, pulling his face away. He takes her hand and squeezes it.

  
"Was a bloody good hit." she giggles, and suddenly he feels so much better. She leans up and kisses him, and he returns in kind, his hands roam when her sink to his stomach. "I want you." she breathes.

  
He nods, "Me too." he shakes his head. "Gotta get Kaine back in an interrogation room." He kisses her cheek and sucks in a breath. "Gotta get some things answered-" He gasps as her fingers play at his belt.

  
She frowns. "Why do the idiots always get to ruin the fun?" She steps off him, and he attempts to breathe.

  
"Dunno." He smiles. "But it is Tuesday, another day, and we'll get to the bottom of it." He closes his aching eyes briefly to try to will away his arousal.

  
He opens his eyes when she speaks. "I hope so. I need a few days off after this whole weekend fiasco." She fans herself with her hand, and he has to look away.

  
"And we'll get it."

  
"Together?" she asks.

  
He smiles. "I'd like that." He reaches out, taking her hand and pulling her closer, giving her another long, soft kiss.

  
She purses her lips as they break. "Damn you for being so handsome." She bites out and turns. "Let's go, or I'll be late, and my BOSS will never let me hear the end of it."

  
Alec nods, "Sounds like a right arsehole." He comments, grabbing his keys. "Why do you even put up with him?" He puts his keys in his jacket pocket.

  
Ellie doesn't miss a beat. "He is the actual worst." she giggles again, and his heart beats faster. Alec grabs her arm and gently pulls her back to him and kisses her deeply, pushing her gently up against the wall by the door. He takes his mouth off of her to breathe a moment but kisses her cheek. She pulls his tie, and he kisses her again.

  
"Let's be late." He murmurs. It's very unlike him, but his erection is not going to go away anytime soon.

  
She sucks in a breath as he moves to nibble along her jawline. "Hardy." it's a warning, but he doesn't stop. "Alec." She says more firmly.

  
His first name is like a slap in the face. He immediately opens his hands, holding them up like he's going to get arrested and backs up slowly before lowering them. "Sorry, Ellie I-" He is sorry too, he has no idea what's come over him.

  
"Oh, don't be sorry. Do not mistake me, Alec Hardy, I want to. I just, we just-"

  
"Work," Alec interjects, fixing his tie.

  
"Yes, work." Ellie sighs as she straightens her blouse.

  
"One second." He turns into the back of the house to his bathroom to splash cold water on his face. "Get a hold of yourself, Hardy." He looks in the mirror and wills himself to be better than this. Love has always been a crux for him, a distraction, and it's the one thing he's never been truly able to ignore.

* * *

  
The day is painstakingly long, Kaine has lawyered up. The interrogation goes about as expected with the man bottling up and saying nothing. Though he did smirk at Alec the moment he walked into the room, proud of his handiwork, Alec assumes.

  
It leads Alec and Ellie back to his office, where they talk behind the closed door.

  
"So the tire tracks found near Jameson's body match those of Kaine's truck." Alec sighs.

  
"Is that enough for us to bring it in and pull evidence from it?"

  
"I'm not sure; I'll get with the Cheif Inspector and see if we have enough circumstantial evidence to do something here," He sighs and sets it aside. Alec runs a hand over the side of his face that isn't aching.

  
"Okay, so Jameson drowned." She turns the paper over. "He was transported over a mile and left out in the woods," She's looking at the crime scene photos.

  
"Left by someone who cared," Alec said, looking at her.

  
"You think Karen could have done this?"

  
"Did you see her, Miller? She couldn't lift his body alone, fragile thing, she would have had to have had help." He insists, "That dead bodyweight, you couldn't have moved him, Miller. Hell, I couldn't have moved him alone."

  
Ellie considers, "She looked pretty shocked that he was dead," She turns to another photo, "She was kind, of blindsided by it,"

  
"Could be faking it," Hardy suggests. "We need a connection,"

  
"Let's talk to the boy again." She suggests. "he's had a few days to think about things. He is the ONLY thing connecting these two cases."

  
Alec considers that in his mind but shakes his head. "Boy goes missing," he starts from the beginning. "Ends up at a treehouse, his biological father ends up dead, and suddenly the boy pops back up."

  
Ellie lowers her hands, looking at him. "All too convenient if you ask me."

  
"It is very convenient, isn't it?" He turns the page over in his hand and looks at it blankly. "Let's go have dinner tonight."

  
Ellie looks up. "Okay." She smiles. "I will have to pick up Fred. Tom's at practice until eight,"

  
"I don't mind the kids." he says, "I want you to know that."

  
"I know, and Fred adores you." She shrugs. "I'm glad they're seeing a good male role model in their lives. I am glad you understand about me having them around."

  
Alec leans down on his elbows. "Ellie?"

  
"Yes?" She looks up.

  
"I never again want you to act like you're sorry for having your kids around." He smiles. "I've got Daisy, you've got the boys, we can manage it together." He sets the paper down. "Including the kids in what we are doing is far better than excluding them in-" he fumbles and shrugs. "This."

  
She smiles at him. He can't describe what he's seeing in the depths of her eyes. "You are-" she shakes her head like she can't finish that statement. "Thank you, Alec,"

  
"Don't thank me, Miller," Alec smirks. "I do what I can." He sits up.

  
"You do a helluva lot." She stands coming to inspect his face for the first time the whole day. "How's the eye feeling?"

  
"Still hurts." He closes the folder on his desk and shakes his head. There has to be something they are missing, what are they missing? "What are we missing?" He finally speaks aloud, looking up at her as she touches the soft tissue near his ear that causes him to wince.

  
"Sorry-" she takes her hands. back. "We are missing what happened to the boy between the time he left school and was found later that week. We are missing where Jameson died, and who transported him. We are missing a lot in terms of time tables." She's right.

  
He leans back and looks at his watch. "Do we have prints back from the Treehouse?"

  
"I think so," She turns back to her seat, digging through a few files before offering one over to him. He takes it and drops it turning it around on his desk. "Farmer and his three grandkids, Jameson, Thomas Kaine," Alec's brows rise. "Karen Kaine."

  
"What was she doing there?" Ellie asks.

  
"I don't know, but I intend to find out," Alec says and grabs up his phone and presses a few buttons. When an officer picks up on the other line, he speaks, "I need Karen Kaine brought in for questioning." He nods a few times as he listens to the officer on the other side of the line. "Soon as you can."  


  
"Ought to be interesting," Ellie said, leaning back in her seat.

  
"We have got to get them talking." Alec sighs. "Or we're fucked."

  
Ellie can only nod her agreement. 

* * *

To be continued....


	8. Chapter 8

They can't find Karen Kaine. She's off the grid. So they end up putting a search out for her, police are looking everywhere. Alec is leaned up against the car when Ellie exits the care center Fred running ahead of her right for him. "ALEC!" The boy squeals grabbing onto his leg. "Hi!"

  
"Hey Fred," Alec looks down. "Have a good day?"

  
"I was a pirate! I stole the toys!" He makes a fist and says, "ARRRR!"

  
"Awe, now don't be telling me that we might have to arrest you." Alec teases. "You know your mum's a police officer, right?"

  
Fred gets a panicked look, "But- I gave them back!" He says, "I gave all the toys back!"

  
Ellie smiles. "Well, then we can overlook it, just this once. So long as you're sure you gave them back." He is nodding at her aggressively. "Well, then there's nothing to worry about."

  
Alec leans down and lifts the boy. "What do you weigh, lad?" He laughs, "Fifty pounds?" He smirks at Ellie with a smile. "Gonna be too big to carry soon."

  
Ellie smiles. "Forty-seven at his last check-up."

  
"Alright Captain Toy thief," Alec says and sets him back down, opening the door for him. "Up you get."

  
Ellie comes behind him to buckle him into his seat. "Where's Tom?" Fred points to the empty place beside him. "Is Tom still at school?"

  
"Your brother is at practice, sweetheart." Ellie kisses his cheek and shuts the car door. "We're gonna get some dinner. You, me, Daisy, and Alec."

  
"YES!" Fred says from the back seat with a giggle. "I like Daisies."

  
"Swing by my place. I'll go in and grab Daze." Alec buckles his seatbelt.

* * *

The restaurant is very casual. Daisy is eating a cheeseburger and trying to get Fred to attempt to eat his chips. "I'm gonna eat these if you don't want them, Fred." she smiles at him threatening to take one and put it in her mouth as he protests, bringing it back.

  
Alec has already pushed his plate to the center of the table, his grilled chicken salad gone, and he's grabbing some of the broccoli off Ellie's plate and eating it.

  
"Oi!" She laughs at him. "Order your own. What is with you Hardys? You steal food left and right, order your own." she shakes her head at him.

  
"No." He leans down on his elbows and looks around the restaurant.

  
"She's not here. You've looked like eight times," Ellie says, confidently. "Stop hoping you'll find her here." She's right; he's been looking for Karen Kaine in any of the faces that walk in, and every time the doorbell chimes, he turns to look.

  
Fred yawns and coils up on Daisy's lap. "Can we go home? I wanna watch a movie!" He complains. "I'm tired." he murmurs.

  
"Soon, love," Ellie says and takes another bite of her chicken sandwich. "Once we're all done eating."

  
Daisy smiles at them. "This is nice."

  
"Isn't it?" Ellie agrees. When the bill comes, Alec reaches across and grabs it before Ellie can lay a hand on it. "Come now. You paid last time."

  
Alec nods. "You can get the next one." He promises as he offers up his card to the server.

  
They exit the restaurant. Ellie is holding Fred's hand ahead of them, and Alec is coming up behind with Daisy. "I think it would be a fun trip," Daisy says. They've been talking about the Zoo.

  
"I think a Zoo trip would be wonderful. Fred would love it." Ellie looks back, turning to walk backward for a few steps, still holding on to Fred.

  
"ZOO!" Fred claps. "Lemurs."

  
Alec nods, "Lemurs."

  
Ellie stops walking and lets Fred's hand go, and he runs to Alec grabbing his leg. "TODAY!?"

  
"Not today, Fred, it's dark. The Zoo closed for the night." Daisy smiles at him. He goes to her, and she lifts him into her arms.

  
"Got him, Daze?"

  
"I do." She smiles and looks up at Ellie. "Thank you, Ellie."

  
Ellie looks confused as she meets Alec's eyes briefly. "For what love?" She walks back over to join them.

  
"For like everything." Daisy smiles and sets Fred down, taking his hand and walking ahead to the car. "Come on. We gotta get Tom."

* * *

  
  
Alec and Daisey head home after dropping the Miller family at their home. "Dad?"

  
"Yes, Daze?" Alec fumbled with his keys, pushing the key into the lock.

  
"Do you love Ellie?" He does stop briefly but manages to get the key into the lock.

  
He flips the lock open and pushes in the door. Once inside, he lets it close behind them. He flicks on the light and looks at Daze with a proud smile. "This is so new, Darlin." He leans back on the door. She seems upset like he isn't truthful about the situation. That's not what he wants her to feel at all. He reaches out, pulling her into his arms in a hug. "But, I might be starting to." He can't lie to her, doesn't want to do that.

  
She smiles. "You guys need alone time." She points out. "I could spend the night with Chloe this weekend!" She nods, "I'll do that!"

  
"And what's she gonna do with Tom and Fred?"

  
"I dunno, but I'll figure something out!" She giggles.

  
"Daisy," Alec warns as she bounces back. "Don't go over the top."

  
She shakes her head. "Me? never." She rolls her eyes, and he has never in his life been more confident that she was exactly like her mother, Tess.

* * *

Alec had been sleeping reasonably well when his phone blares to life. He rolls, grabbing it and pressing the green button. 2:45 A.M., his clock reads. "Hardy." He listens briefly, rubbing his eyes. He yawns, pushing his head back to the pillow listening to the other line. "What did you say?" He sits up like a shot. "I'm on my way over. I'll be right there."

  
He stands up and turns on the light. He hangs up the phone and grabs his pants off the back of a chair and dresses as fast as he can, forgoing his tie.

  
"Daisy!" He calls, "I need you to get up!" He walks across the hall and knocks on her door. "come on lass get up, we gotta go."

  
"What's wrong?"

  
"Someone broke into Ellie's house while she was home." He frowns. "I don't want to leave you here, alone." He says softly. "Please get dressed."

  
He turns out of her room, pulling the door closed and leans on the hallway wall putting on his watch.

  
Daisy is ready quickly, and he puts an arm around her and leads her out. "I don't know what we will find when we get over there, but I want you to listen to me no matter what I tell you."

  
"Yeah, okay." She agrees, stopping only to grab her small bag as they go out the door.

* * *

Ellie's house is open entirely, with officers going in and out. Lights are on, and all the front windows on the first floor are all shattered, there's a broken window on the second floor he can see, looks like a rock went through it.

  
Tom stands on the sidewalk, wrapped in a blanket. He's looking at the home a bit lost. Alec does not immediately see Ellie or Fred; that concerns him greatly.

  
Alec stops his car and turns to Daisy. "Stay in the car." he tosses the car into park, leaving it running. It is chilly out at 3 A.M. "Move to the back seat. We may be taking Ellie and the boys back with us." He motions her back.

  
"Okay." She gets out and moves into the back without another word. He can see how tired she is.

  
Alec gets out of the car and locks it before jogging across the street. Alec makes a bee-line for Tom. An officer comes toward him, so he flashes his badge before ducking under the crime scene tape. "Tom? Hey, you alright?"

  
Tom turns around. "Hey, Alec." He shakes his head and looks very stressed out. "I'm fine."

  
"Where's your mother?"

  
"Ambulance with Fred," He says.

  
"Is your mother hurt?"

  
"No, but Fred stepped on some glass."

  
Alec pats his shoulder and points at his car. "Go wait with Daisy in the car. She'll unlock it for you."

  
Tom nods. "Okay." Tom shuffles toward the car.

  
Alec moves over to the ambulance, where Ellie sits by the medic, and Fred is sobbing on the stretcher. "What happened?" He climbs in beside Ellie and sits and leans down, "Hey, Fred." He takes the boy's hand. His eyes go straight to Ellie to give him some information.

  
"Dunno, my alarm started going off, ran downstairs, and started hearing glass breaking all over the house. Had to be a few people smashing windows. " Fred lets out a scream as the medic pulls a piece of glass out of the wound on his foot while trying to hold him still. "He ran through the broken glass trying to get to me." she frowns. "His carpet, in his room, is covered in it." She shakes her head. "it's okay, love." She kisses his tear-stained face.

  
"I'm gonna go get what info I can, stay with Fred. Tom's in my car with Daisy." He says softly. "Let me know if you're going to take him anywhere before you do so. If he needs a hospital, I'm going too." Ellie smiles at him with a nod. "I'll be right back," he tells Fred, who nods. "I'm gonna get you the biggest stuffed Lemur you've ever seen." The boy is still crying too hard to speak, but he nods up and down repeatedly. "That's a good lad."

  
"Thanks, Alec," Ellie smiles.

  
"Keep me informed," He says to the EMT.

  
"Yes, sir." The man says as Alec hops out of the ambulance.

  
"Hartford!" Alec jumps down out of the ambulance and pushes through some officers. "Talk to me, tell me something of use please!"

  
Katie turns and comes to him. "Lots of broken glass and windows." Katie says, "They're looking for prints, but we might not find them." She sighs, "Vandalism?"

  
"Won't know until we find more information." He sighs, putting his hands on his hips. "Check the flower beds for footprints, anything, the upper window looks like a rock, or something, see if you can find it, might have prints." Alec instructs. "I want all the info you can get me."

  
Katie nodded, "Yes, sir, is Ellie, okay?"

  
"She's fine, it's the wee lad," Alec says with a nod. "Cuts on the bottom of his feet." He nods, "We'll need photos of Fred's feet, so get someone on that before the ambulance leaves with him."

  
"I'll send Marcus over to the ambulance." She turns to leave but turns back abruptly. "Keep me updated," She turned around and walked over to the crime scene investigators that were coming on site.

  
Alec turned back to the ambulance. Ellie is leaned over Fred, trying to keep his focus. Alec climbed up inside, taking a seat beside her, the EMT working at Fred's feet. "Hey, pal."

Ellie looks up at his face and frowns. "Your face still looks bad."

  
"You always say such nice things, Miller." He takes Fred's free hand. "Do we need to go to hospital?"

  
The EMT looks up at Ellie. "It's up to her honestly, I can patch him up, but I can't promise I got all the glass out."

  
Alec nods. "Hospital." He smiles down at her. "Can't risk any glass left in his feet, that's an infection waiting to happen. You ride with Fred, I'll follow with Daisy and Tom." He smiles at Fred, "You're a brave lad!" He says kindly. "Gonna be just fine!" The sobbing boy nods fervently. "You got yer momma, and Daisy and Tom and I are gonna be right there, after your little ride ok?" the boy nods again.

  
"Thanks, Alec." Ellie smiles at him as he leans toward her kissing her forehead. "See you there."

  
"See you in a bit." Alec gives the EMT a pat on the back as he hops out of the ambulance. Marcus walks up and looks at Ellie. "Just need a few photos." She nods and scoots out of the cameraman's way. 

  
Alec ends up back his car and knocks on the window. Daisy unlocks the doors. Alec holds his tie down as he sits down in the car. "Headed to Hospital."

  
"What's happening?" Tom asks. 

"Fred's got some serious cuts on his feet. We're gonna follow the ambulance." He puts on his seat belt and puts the car into gear. "Seatbelts."

* * *

  
Alec is more than exhausted, he's already been on the phone with Jenkins this morning and Hartford, he's taking a few hours to get a nap, and then he'll be into work. He's already told them Ellie isn't coming in today. She needs to call her insurance and make sure Fred's doing alright.

  
He comes back to his bedroom and sits on the edge of the bed. Ellie and Fred are cuddled up asleep. Fred has bandages on both feet; he'd scratched them up pretty well when he ran scared out of his room. The doctors were confident they'd gotten out all the glass, and he'd had stitches put in. 

  
He's got Tom set up on the couch and Daisy's in her room, he's called the school already about both of the children, and Fred's care center. He is exhausted. Looking at Ellie, he can't imagine how she does this every day.  
Fred's feet will heal, with time, but he will need physical therapy and lots of piggyback rides until then.

  
Alec yawns deeply and rubs a hand over his face. "Lay down." Ellie's soft voice catches him. He turns to look at her. "You're exhausted."

  
"Just for a few hours." he says, "Gotta go in to finish the Kaine files."

  
She understands, he knows. He lays down on top of the covers, facing her. He's exhausted. "Sleep" She smiles at him as her eyes close, her grip tightening on the little boy.

  
Alec takes her hand and lets his eyelids shut. He is asleep almost immediately wrapped around her and the little boy with scared up feet. 

* * *

  
  
He gets to work late in the afternoon, but he's ready to work. Katie sets a coffee on his desk, and he ignores it. "prints?"

  
"Lots of them, mostly Ellie, Tom, Fred, and- him"

  
"And Joe." he's not afraid to say the bastard's name. "Any others?"

  
"Um her sister Lucy's prints are on the front door, yours are on a few of the window sills inside." she looks at him. "Along with your daughter's and Ellie's dad's."

  
"Aye, was invited over for pizza with Daisy a few nights ago." He leans back. "Any of the Kaines?"

  
"No, sir." Katie says, closing the file, "We do have two unknown prints, one of the rocks that broke through the window, and one on the front doorknob." She turns the image around. "Rock was only a partial."

  
"Hardy." Jenkins is standing in his doorway. "A word?" She steps inside.

  
"Excuse us, Hartford." He motions her out with her paperwork. Katie leaves, pulling the door closed behind her.

  
"I need your head on straight." She accuses him. Alec doesn't say anything. "you're all over the map, Hardy." She waves a hand. "Find Karen Kaine, get information out of Ryan Kaine, or get Thomas Kaine back in here."

  
"Yes, ma'am."

  
"You're dragging this out, and you don't have Ellie here to help you right now."

  
"Her house-"

  
"As far as I am concerned, her house is not connected to all this." She shakes her head, "bring me evidence to suggest otherwise, and I'll say I'm sorry in front of the whole bullpen." She puts her hands on her chest. "But we have to get this Kaine situation dealt with immediately. I want it off the table."

  
"Yes, ma'am, I'll see to it." She smiles at him.

  
"How is Ellie doing?" Her voice softens, he knows Jenkins has people above her breathing down her neck too. 

  
"Wee Fred's feet are all butchered up, seven stitches. Three on the left, Four on the right." He heaves a breath. "Ellie and Tom are okay, though."

  
"Well, that's something to be thankful for." Jenkins pauses. "She's staying at your place?"

  
"Just until CS is done gathering what they need over there," he said. "And a cleaning crew for the glass, not sure when she can get windows installed again."

Jenkins nods and looks him over like she's skeptical of his answer. He wants her to leave. "Keep me updated."

  
"Yes, ma'am," he nods in agreement as she exits out the door leaving it open. Once she's gone he drops into his chair with a deep sigh. "Bloody-" He doesn't even finish, he's got to find Karen Kaine. 

* * *

To be continued 


End file.
